Fate: Moonlight
by Ryuzuki98
Summary: An unknown evil lurks in the darkness of Misaki City. A new battle is about to unfold. This is the story of a young man who fights as a meditation, a monster who seeks to protect what keeps him human. Takes place 17 years after the events of Fate/Stay Night. Multiple references to Tsukihime. Rated M for lemons.
1. Sunset

Fate/Moonlight

Chapter 1: Sunset

 _It was a beautiful night with a shining full moon._

 _A child with gray eyes and short gray hair was sitting on a grassy hill, looking at the moon. He was at a loss of words, bewildered by the gentle radiance before his eyes, but he felt at peace, as the broad smile on his face conveyed._

 _However, the enchantment slowly wore off as the child averted his eyes and looked on a nearby lake surrounded by white roses and lotus flowers, in which the moonlight was reflected._

 _Looking in the watery mirror, he noticed something strange, something unfamiliar and slightly unsettling…_

…

"Hey! Kazuki!"

The boy jolted back to his senses. He looked like he had just come back from a trance.

"What were you thinking about? You were dazed again..." his friend asked. He was slightly taller than him and had black hair and brown eyes.

"Sorry, Shun. I was immersed in a memory of my childhood… Thanks for waking me up..." His head was slightly hung as he pronounced the words with a low, apologetic tone of voice. He and his friend were on the bridge that stood over a pond in Misaki Park.

"No problem." the young man beside him answered "Just make sure you tone it down a bit. You do have a brilliant mind, but you have to learn to keep it in check. I think you've been staring at the moonlight for too much, kid!".

"Hey! I resent that!" the gray-haired boy replied, offended.

"Keep your claws down." his friend warned. "Otherwise you might do things that you will come to regret… You've been told this many times, haven't you?"

"Yeah, indeed..." Kazuki's expression began showing signs of intense sadness and pent-up anger "But the truth is, I regret more what I wasn't capable of doing, rather than what I have done..."

"Kazuki..." murmured the black-haired man.

"I wasn't capable of doing what I had to do..." Kazuki looked like he was on the verge of tears. "If I had only managed to do it, things would be most certainly different..."

"Stop it." said his friend. "Stop thinking about it."

"Shun..." Kazuki sadly whispered. He stood silent for a couple of minutes, then spoke "Sorry..."

"Ranting about it wouldn't change anything." Shun said "It would only worry me, or her… You should be more considerate of others' feelings. That's what she would say...".

"I know..." the gray-haired boy answered "But it isn't easy when you're in pain..."

"Yeah, that's true..." Shun said. "The best that we can do is to keep doing our best."

"That's right." said Kazuki, his expression lightened up a bit.

"Speaking of which..." Shun teased, a little smile on his face "I won't ask you how school is going, because that would be obvious."

"You flatter me." Kazuki replied "You shouldn't do that. You know that I might flunk one day or another because of that?"

"Nah." Shun shrugged off his friend's answer "You're hardly the type of guy who would do such a thing."

"I don't know if we should be that sure about that..." the gray-haired boy replied.

"You're the one who's not sure." said Shun "And I know for a fact that it is not a good thing."

Kazuki wasn't all that compliant with those words "You might be right..." he said "But being too sure, to the point of becoming reckless, is not a good thing either."

"Understandable." said Shun, that faint smile appearing once again on his normally serious face.

"Well then, thanks for the chat, Shun!" Kazuki smiled broadly before heading home.

"Take care!" Shun replied.

The house Kazuki Aokage lived in wasn't too far from the park, so the gray-haired boy arrived there in about half an hour.

"I'm home!" he said as he entered, knowing that there was someone waiting for him inside.

"Welcome home, Kazuki-kun!" a girl with long red hair and bright teal eyes greeted the boy with a warm smile.

"Hello, Sayaka!" he replied happily.

Sayaka Inoue was his childhood friend. They had known each other from elementary school. She would often come to his house so that she could greet him and help him with his dinner.

"So, how did school go today?" she asked, with that infectious, sweet smile still on her face.

"Today I had a Chemistry test." he answered, the same smile on his own face.

"Nice! How do you think it went?"

"I hope well. It made me think, everything around us is more complex than we might think..."

"Yeah, that's true..." she murmured, thoughtfully.

"It's definitely not the only thing capable of sparking such thoughts, though..." his expression became serious. By seeing him, Sayaka stopped smiling as well. A moment of silence passed.

"Besides that, there's not much else to say, really. How did your day go, Sayaka?" the boy decided to break the silence and resume talking.

"Oh, just fine, thanks! Even though sadly today wasn't very eventful..." She sighed.

"If I were you, I would be thankful for that." Kazuki said "No one likes the pressure that imminent events like this produce..."

"I know." the girl replied, her teal eyes moved down as she moved a strand of her long red hair behind her ear. "I'm just sad that we don't have much to talk about today..."

"Sayaka..." the boy couldn't but be moved by that display of affection "You know I'm more of a quiet guy, so don't worry." He gazed at her tenderly.

"Kazuki-kun…" she noticed and returned the gaze, with a reassuring smile. Then, suddenly, she remembered something.

"Oh right! You can use the bathroom, after then, would you mind terribly in helping me out with dinner?"

"Of course not!" Kazuki replied as he headed to the bathroom to wash himself.

After he washed himself, he went in the kitchen to help out Sayaka with her cooking. "Today I'll cook your favourite dish, Kazuki-kun!"

"You're far too kind, Sayaka..." the gray-haired boy sighed.

"Oh don't worry! It's my pleasure!" she replied brightly.

" _I don't think I deserve all of this kindness, Sayaka..."_ Sometimes this thought would pop into his head.

As they ate, the two childhood friends chatted some more

"Sayaka, how do your parents do?" Kazuki asked, with a tone of slight concern.

"Oh, they're fine." she replied

"And what about your aunt?" This time the gray-haired boy sounded even more concerned.

"She seems to be all right. She's always a little gloomy when I see her, but she says it's nothing. She's always like that..."

"Hmmm..." Kazuki seemed unconvinced. "Your parents have told me that when she sees you her spirits lift up. Stay close to her, you know how she is..."

"I understand, Kazuki-kun..." the girl replied. They both knew that her aunt was loving, as well as fragile. "But I don't think we should stress this too much, either..."

"That's true..." the boy agreed.

Before leaving, Sayaka handed a little present to her friend, an origami made by her.

"Here, it's for you!" Sayaka gave it to Kazuki with a smile. It was an owl-shaped origami. Sayaka has been practicing the origami art for a long time. She loved their symbolic value.

"I'm sorry it isn't very polished, but I wanted to give it to you..." She apologized.

"It's beautiful! Thanks, Sayaka!" Kazuki smiled back.

"I think it represents you..." the girl added "The owl has always been your favourite animal, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right." Kazuki replied, still smiling. Sayaka finally headed off "See you tomorrow, Kazuki-kun!"

The two friends waved each other goodbye with the promise of seeing each other again the next day.

With that, Kazuki went to his room and lied down in his bed, but he didn't fall fast asleep. He gazed at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. He rose his right hand above him. It started glowing of a crystal blue light, faint, yet intense. That light was very familiar to him.

"Not an eventful day, huh?" he muttered to himself. "Sayaka… I'm thankful that today wasn't an eventful day..."

After saying those words, he slowly slipped from the coil of his running thoughts and drifted off to sleep…

A bittersweet sleep...


	2. Reminiscence

Fate/Moonlight

Chapter 2: Reminiscence

After his chat with Kazuki, Shun Akemi was heading to the hospital of Misaki. A dear one of his was recovered there. He entered and asked to the secretary:

"Good evening, sir. I'm here for a visit."

"Of course, Akemi-san." the secretary understood immediately who the young man wanted to see. "You can find her in Room 54."

"Thank you very much." he said as he headed off. While he was on his way to the hospital room, his mind was filled with memories of blissful past days…

 _6 months earlier…_

 _Kazuki was sitting under a tree in the park, gazing at the horizon, lost in his thoughts. A young woman with long light brown hair and green eyes approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder._

" _Still over the clouds, are we, Aokage-kun?"_

 _The boy was caught by surprise, but he eased up quickly as he saw her familiar face._

" _Oh, Torikawa-san. Please don't startle me like that again..." he asked her._

" _You should be thankful it isn't Chouko-chan instead of me..." The woman answered "You know how much she loves playing pranks on people…"_

" _Yeah, seriously..." Kazuki couldn't help but agree._

" _Oh, there you are, Akane!" Shun said as he came in their direction. He had just arrived in the park. "Sorry I'm late."_

" _It's fine, Shun." Akane smiled sweetly. "I didn't have to wait for too long. Besides..." she pointed her finger towards Kazuki "I always find this guy here when you are late..."_

" _Uhm..." Kazuki uttered, not knowing if he should be offended or not._

" _How much company did he provide, I wonder..." the young black-haired man joked, making his gray-haired friend frown. "Y-You're not serious, are you, Shun?" Kazuki retorted._

" _Of course he isn't, Aokage-kun!" Akane said, giggling. Kazuki sighed of relief._

" _So, how are you?" Akane asked the gray-haired boy._

" _Oh, I'm fine, thank you. There's really not much to say." Kazuki answered "How are things going for you guys?"_

 _It was Shun who answered his friend's question. "Well, we're having a heavy load of work lately..."_

" _We are policemen, after all..." Akane added._

" _It is a great deal of hard work..." Kazuki mused "Aren't you scared?" At that question Shun went to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder._

" _Yes, we are." he said "Everyone in his right mind would be. We just push it aside." Kazuki listened carefully._

" _You could say that this job teaches us how to live, in some ways..." Akane added. One of the many things that she had in common with Shun, her boyfriend, was the wish to do the right thing and the willingness to learn, which Kazuki shared as well._

" _Yeah..." the gray-haired boy agreed "This job really means a lot for you, Torikawa-san..."_

" _I'm just trying to protect others' smiles. Don't you wish the same, Aokage-kun?"_

" _Of course, but there are ways..." Kazuki looked slightly unconvinced. He didn't exactly see himself as a policeman._

" _Don't worry." Akane giggled "I'm not trying to talk you into the police."_

" _Kazuki..." Shun added, patting his friend's shoulder again "Like you said, there are ways. We just have to find what do we want to do with our lives." Hearing those words, a question popped in the boy's head._

" _And what if someone doesn't have the right to find it?"_

" _Everyone has a choice." Shun said. "Even if sometimes we don't see it."_

 _The gray-haired boy slowly took in the black-haired young man's words, then he said: "I see… Now I have something else to think about."_

" _Like you do anything else..." Shun teased, with a faint smile, making his friend scowl slightly._

" _Shun! I think you can stop now..." Akane told her, a frown appearing on her own face. But then Kazuki's expression softened and he put his own hand on the policeman's shoulder._

" _Thanks, Shun."_

" _That's what I do." Shun answered, before going off to his date with his girlfriend. "Let's go, Akane."_

 _After waving his friends goodbye, Kazuki walked away. While he was walking, he rose his head to the sky, thoughtfully, entering his trance once again..._

As he remembered, his face had an expression of nostalgia and melancholy on it. When he arrived at the hospital room, he found a girl lying on a bed. He put up a smile and greeted her.

"Hello, Chouko. How are you feeling today?"

"Onii-chan!" she shouted happily, opening her arms. Shun came closer and hugged her.

"I'm so happy that you're here!" she said "I'm feeling a little better everyday!"

"I'm glad..." Shun murmured softly as he embraced her warmly. She then pulled off and asked the black haired young man:

"How did your day go?"

"Fine, thanks!" he answered.

"Did you meet someone today?"

"Actually yes. I met Kazuki at the park today."

"Kazuki-kun!" she exclaimed, puffing her cheeks "Why didn't you take me with you? I could have played a prank on him..." Shun smiled faintly at the statement. She had been sick for two months, but she still looked hyperactive as if she had nothing at all.

"I apologize, your Majesty!" he said "Which prank were you thinking about?"

"Hmmm..." The girl thought about it, and then answered: "I don't know. There are so many pranks I could play on him, it's hard to pick one..."

"Well, unless you have him in front of you, that is." Shun replied.

"Anyway!" She decided to tell something of her own, with a beaming smile on her face "I'm glad to see that the tarot card I picked today got it right! As always!"

"Chouko!" Shun scowled. "Stop talking about those tarot cards, already!"

"But I can do very little in here..." She replied, her head hung. The policeman felt sorry. She did have to stay in the hospital bed for most of the time, after all, and had to keep herself occupied, somehow… After a moment of silence, Shun spoke up.

"So, I was thinking I could take you for a walk to the park tomorrow after work."

"Really? Yaaaay!" She immediately lightened up as she heard the young man's idea. The faint smile appeared again on Shun's face. Abruptly, Chouko's expression became serious as she told him "Hey! Don't even think of ditching it! It's a deal!"

"I won't, I promise." the young man replied. He then decided to go back home.

"See you tomorrow, Chouko." he told her.

"Bye-bye!" the girl said, waving at him from her bed. Shun thanked the secretary for letting him in and asked if it was possible to take the patient Chouko Torikawa out the following day. The secretary asked the question to the doctors in charge of taking care of her, and they did not object. Shun thanked the secretary again for his kindness and made his way out of the hospital.

After Shun got out of the room, Chouko moved her gaze at the window, seeing the beautiful night sky from it. She then clasped her hands together in prayer and closed her eyes. "Onee-chan..." she prayed.

On his way home, the policeman rose his head to the starry sky above him, with a shining moon, as he found himself reminiscing past times again. "Akane..."

 _6 months earlier_

 _It was night. A beautiful starry sky could be seen from the window of Shun's room. The moonlight was the only illumination there. He and Akane were lying on his bed, naked. They had just made love. They were both gazing at the ceiling, with contented smiles on their faces._

" _Hey, Shun." Akane spoke up, turning to her boyfriend "I'm so happy..." She put a hand on the chest of the young man lying by her side._

" _I am too, Akane..." He softly answered, putting his hand on hers and gazing at her lovingly "More than I have ever been in my life..."_

" _For how long will it be?" she asked, a flash of anxiety could be seen in her eyes "For how long will we be able to be together like this?"_

" _What are you talking about?" Shun was getting worried as well._

" _Do you recall the talk we had with Aokage-kun at the park?"_

" _Yeah..." The young man's expression became thoughtful._

" _I did say that our job teaches us how to live, but it is because we risk our lives. We can't ignore that we might lose them at any moment..." Shun stayed silent, but his anxiety could be easily conveyed by his expression._

" _Akane..." He held his girlfriend's hands "If I said that I'm not scared, I'd be lying. I meant every word of what I said to Kazuki..." He looked deep in her green eyes. Strengthening his hold of his lover's hands, he then added:_

" _The only thing I can say is… Let's be together to the fullest."_

 _His attempt to chase away the menacing thoughts seemed to work, as broad smiles returned to both the lovers' faces._

" _By the way..." Akane stood up on her knees on top of her lover, her nude body looked even more beautiful and captivating under the moonlight. "Why are you always teasing him when I see you two?"_

" _Huh?" Shun sat up and got closer to her._

" _You offend him, you know? True, you're not like Chouko-chan, but still..." She kept going. "You should be more considerate of others' feelings."_

" _Sigh..." The black-haired young man scratched the back of his head in response. It wasn't the first time he heard her saying that. Usually, he just shrugged off his girlfriend's statement, but then he felt obligated to answer her._

" _I'm not as good as you are in empathy… You don't only protect people, but try to protect their smiles as well… You're really amazing, Akane..." he said thoughtfully, making the brown-haired woman blush. Suddenly, his gaze turned to Akane as he said "Would you mind teaching me a thing or two about it?"_

" _It'll be my pleasure!" she replied. The statement made them both giggle. Then, they gazed in each other's eyes intensely, slowly closing the gap between their faces, and their lips met in a sweet and passionate kiss, brushing, and finally locking together. The lovers clutched one another. Shun's hands were on Akane's back, gently caressing it like it was prized porcelain, while one of her hands was on his back, and the other one was on his cheek. Their tongues led a dance, slowly, but fierily…_

 _They didn't know what lied ahead of them, and they didn't care..._


	3. Crisis

Chapter 3: Crisis

Two men, one younger than the other, were sit at the two sides of a desk, in a small and cold room. It was the office of a police station. A detective and his superior were discussing the recent events that were happening in Misaki City.

"We're facing a terrible crisis, detective Takagi Kuro."

"I do understand, sir..." the young man answered his chief in an apologetic tone. He had short dark brown hair and brown eyes and wore glasses. On the desk lied a small notebook containing the profiles of dead people.

"As you can see, this list in front of us is related to the victims of the Berserker murder of 6 months ago." the police superior continued. "All of them were industrialists and corporate owners who had commercial contacts with a particular corporation in the past… You know which one I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Yes sir, the Ryoki Corporation."

"Exactly." The older man furiously beat his fist on the desk. "Furthermore, beside the murderer, Berserker, an enormous armored man with great brute strength wielding a giant blade, there had always been another man on the scene of the crimes: Ryoki Hideki, son of the president of the Ryoki Corporation, Ryoki Goro."

"It seems obvious that the Corporation is involved in this string of murders..."

"Yes, and yet..." The police superior's expression conveyed great frustration, which erupted in another violent impact of the man's fist with the desk. "We're stuck! There isn't enough evidence to confirm the relation between the Berserker Murders and the Corporation! If we don't do something, the people might lose faith in us, and when another accident like this will occur, we won't be able to do anything!"

A moment of silence passed, and then Takagi spoke up.

"Sir, I might have an explanation about the reasons why we can't get to the Corporation..."

"What?"

"But there are people that might be put in danger by revealing this information..."

"Are you trying to hide a secret from me in order to protect a friend, Takagi?" the police superior inquired…

"...Yes." Kuro's head was hung.

"Then talk! Don't hide anything from me anymore! Sadly, I can guarantee very little about whoever you wish to protect, but we need this information! We must ensure the safety of the people of Misaki!"

"I understand, sir...". The detective hesitated a little, but he knew he had no choice. His mind was made up. He had prepared himself…

"Sir… Do you believe in magic?"

"What?"

The superior was quite perplexed with the words his colleague gave him. The detective proceeded to explain.

"Here's what I know, there are many sciences, and we think that we know everything about the world surrounding us, but the truth is, there is a part of the world we do not know anything about… That, sir, is the world of Magecraft, an undiscovered science, pursued by very few people called Mages, which wield magic as they wish in order to pursue their goals..."

"Are you trying to tell me that Berserker might be one of these Mages?"

"Not him. The young man who was always with him, Ryoki Hideki."

Another moment of silence passed. A silence of reflection… Then the superior broke it.

"Normally I wouldn't believe in such stuff, but the events of Berserker almost seem like they were made to make me reconsider this opinion..." The man's hands cupped his chin. "You see, some of our men that came into contact with Berserker and Ryoki were so shocked that they were hospitalized. I couldn't understand why, so I checked into the sanitarium they were recovered in. The words I have heard for most of the time were "Magic" and "Red Thunder"."

"I see..." Kuro was listening carefully.

"Anything else? Of course, this conversation will be highly confidential material." The words spurred the detective to continue his explanation.

"Well, sometimes there's a competition between some of these Wizards called the Holy Grail War, in which the Wizards fight each other in order to win a prize, a mysterious relic called "The Holy Grail", which is said to grant any wish the winner desires. One of the particular traits of this war is that the Wizards taking part in it summon spirits of legendary figures of the past which aid them in battle. Therefore, the competitors of the Holy Grail War are called Masters and the spirits they summon are called Servants."

"Are you saying that Berserker might be a Servant?"

"I'm sure of it, sir. He was related to Ryoki Hideki. He was his Master."

"How can you be so sure? And most importantly, how do you know all of this?" the superior inquired. Hearing those questions, Kuro tensed up and fell silent.

"Is it related to the one you wished to protect by staying silent?"

"Yes sir… A friend of mine, who knows the world of Mages closely enough."

"What's his name?" The detective fell quiet once again, but his superior insisted "Tell me!"

"Kazuki… Aokage Kazuki..." Kuro said, hesitantly.

"Him?" The superior didn't expect such an answer. "If I don't go wrong, he was found in one of the crime scenes heavily injured after an encounter with Berserker, but, strangely, his injuries healed rapidly after we took him to safety..."

"Him, it's him sir! He did tell me about this war. He warned me about the dangers that might have come, but he wasn't prepared to face them..."

"I see..."

"What I'm trying to say is..." Kuro paused for a second, then he said "This might be just the beginning..."

A heavy silence fell. An oppressive silence, filled with fearful anticipation.

"We must move quickly! Takagi! You and your team will investigate for clues about Magecraft and the Masters in all of Misaki! Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Kuro was about to leave, but his superior stopped him. He wanted to ask him something else.

"And another thing. Why did you remain silent for Aokage Kazuki? What risks does he run because of this talk?"

"Well… Mages try to hide themselves as best they can, and if it is found out that someone talked about them or their underworld, that someone might end up..."

"I get it. We might need his assistance, since he seems to know about this Holy Grail War, so we will need him alive, and I'm sure that you wish for his safety as well, so, if you ever end up having to get intelligence from him, be as discreet as possible."

"Sir, yes sir!" Takagi readily replied, before asking a question of his own "And what about Captain Akemi?"

"I've tried to contact him, but he had never answered." his superior answered. "He seems intent to not come back to us… Tomorrow I'll send an agent to his workplace in order to try to convince him to rejoin us..." The officer hung his head apologetically, then he rose it back up "That's all for now. You can go."

At those words, Kuro left the office. He rose his head thoughtfully.

"Kazuki… You always knew about what lies beyond our eyes, what was supposed to be hidden to us…" he muttered to himself. "I've known you for a long time, and I had an insight of your world more than once..."

Just 6 months earlier, he was on the pursuit of Berserker, the mysterious murderer who had painted Misaki red… The murderer disappeared after his team had last encountered him, but the scars he left never healed.

The detective had his mind cast on that abominable case, in which he had lost many colleagues and friends. He knew that the young man with gray hair and gray eyes would be caught in the spiral of events once again very soon.

"Please be careful..."

 _6 months earlier…_

 _A menacing behemoth was standing before a squad of astounded policemen. He was clad in a golden armor and was wielding an enormous blade. He had already killed many other agents who had tried to stop him._

" _It's Berserker!" one of the policemen said, frightened. During the past couple of weeks he had bloodstained Misaki and no one had been able to stop him. Strangely, his partner, a young man, wasn't anywhere to be seen._

" _Berserker?" Kuro was speaking in the radio "Damn it! Try to hold on! I'll come with backup shortly!"_

" _Everyone, be careful!" said Akane, who was leading the squad. "His actions are very well coordinated. He must be acting under direct orders..."_

" _From who?" her colleague asked._

" _I don't know… Maybe that young man we're seeing with him most of the time..."_

 _They were interrupted by a savage roar from the brute towering before them, who then charged in their direction, swinging his blade._

" _Look out!" shouted the woman as she shoved her companion aside, away from Berserker's spinning sword. She then moved as well on the other side, and the brute hit nothing but thin air. She had put herself against a wall in order to save her colleague, and Berserker was ready to cleave her in two._

 _"Torikawa-san!" the young man called, fearing for his colleague's life._

 _When he swung down his blade, the policewoman had moved aside again, but she wasn't any safer. She drew her pistol and fired a well-aimed shot at the brute's head. It didn't flinch. It didn't fall back of one millimeter._

" _What? Not even piercing bullets?" she yelled in frustration._

 _Berserker roared again and charged back to Akane, who managed to narrowly escape his slash. Berserker was ready to slash again, sure to hit her, when he abruptly swung his sword in the air and turned around as if there was something which had just leaped behind him..._


	4. Men in Black

Chapter 4: Men in Black

" _You'll pay!" Shun shouted. He had reached Berserker and the young man who was accompanying him, Hideki Ryoki. The young man, who had black hair and brown-red eyes, and was dressed in black jacket, black shirt and jeans with a black cap, didn't seem to be bothered at all by the policeman's rage._

" _Come at me." he said, with a devious grin, extending his arm and signaling him to come at him with his hand._

 _The black haired young man charged with his long baton against Hideki and Berserker, who tried to punch him in the stomach. Shun managed to stop himself and jump back just in time, then he let go of his baton, drew his pistol and fired all of its shots._

 _Unfortunately, bullets were completely ineffective against the brute, who moved towards him and tried to punch him. He managed to dodge it, but as he moved, the behemoth hit him in the stomach with his knee, pushing him back. Shun was unable to react when Berserker rose his foot and hit him on the same spot with it, sending him against the wall behind him. Hideki, who was observing the scene, chuckled darkly._

" _Do you really think you can take on my Servant?" he mocked, as the brute serving him was still standing proud. Shun managed to pick himself off the ground. He was breathing heavily, but he was ready to fight back. He was even willing to push himself, if he had to._

" _Kill him." Hideki ordered to his Servant, who, in response, roared ferociously. Shun managed to pick up his baton and was able to counter the behemoth's blade with it. The brute didn't desist and tried to slash him once more. He managed to defend himself again, but his opponent took advantage of his opening to kick him to the ground. Then, he swung his blade, but Shun managed to roll away from it. Berserker tried to stomp him, but he missed again. The policeman stood up as quickly as possible and managed to move quickly behind him and land a hit on the back with his baton._

 _Still, it did very little, and Shun had to move away in order to avoid his punch. But Berserker was far from done. He spun his sword and managed to slash him on the side. It was a narrow hit and didn't leave much of a cut, but the brute hit him on the stomach again with a spinning kick, and just like that Shun was on the wall again._

 _Hideki, who was observing the scene, chuckled again. But Shun was far from done. He took off his gloves and threw them to the ground. He then put a hand on his belt and charged at Berserker again. The behemoth tried to punch him with his free hand, but the policeman parried the strike, taking hold of the punching hand and keeping it away, he then swiftly took a grenade from his belt, pulled off the safety pin with his mouth, he then placed the bomb on Berserker's chest and pushed him back with a well aimed kick to the stomach. The brute lowered his head to see what was placed on his armored chest as the policeman crouched against the wall. The bomb exploded in a second._

 _Berserker was still completely undamaged, but his sword had fallen off its grip._

" _I've told you, didn't I?" Hideki commented, with his malicious grin "The most you can do with those playthings is tickle him.". None of Shun's weapons could do anything against Berserker, but there was still something that he could try..._

 _He used his foot to pull the behemoth's blade near him and picked it up, then he said_

" _What about his own weapon, then?"_

 _as he swiftly charged against the brute and stabbed him in the chest. The Servant cried painfully. He managed to do something to him, even though it seemed that it wasn't enough to kill him._

 _Still, it was enough to make Hideki's grin vanish, as he stood up._

" _Impossible!" he thought "This can't be, unless..." It was then that he realized something about the man who had come to face him._

 _There was no time to think about it, though. It was time to act. After stabbing Berserker, Shun slashed upwards, extracting the blade, and charged angrily against Hideki, while his behemoth was stepping backwards, covering his wound with his arm._

" _You're next!" he shouted. He was unaware that Berserker wasn't dead yet. Hideki knew that he couldn't joke around any longer. He prepared himself to dodge his attacks and counterattack. Small red sparks could be seen on both of his hands, as the policeman was rapidly approaching him…_

A man in his 60s opened his eyes and quickly rose his head from the chair he was resting on. He had just awakened from a nightmare. He had white hair and red eyes and he was dressed in black. He was in his office, a well-furnished room. The lights were off, since he was resting. The man decided to turn on the lamp on his desk. He took a notebook from his drawers and put it on the desk, opening it. It was a database of people who were involved with him and with the corporation of which he was the CEO. It was then that he heard a knocking at the office door.

"You may enter." he said. The door opened and one of his employees entered the room, making sure to close the door behind him. He was dressed in black as well. The man had called him.

"Did you call me, Ryoki-sama?" he asked.

"Yes." the employer replied him "I have a job for you."

"What is it, sir?". Ryoki showed him a particular photograph of a particular man listed in the notebook.

"I need to talk to this man." he explained "Tomorrow afternoon you will go to his house and you will bring him to me, got it?"

"Understood, sir." the employee answered.

"You can find the address on this page. You should write it down." the corporate owner advised, his worker followed, retrieving a small piece of paper and writing down the address he needed.

"You're dismissed." Ryoki said. "I'll be leaving shortly as well."

"Yes, sir." With that, the employee left the room.

Ryoki turned the notebook back to himself and looked at the picture.

"You… You were among the ones who were trying to stop my son, and you managed to hold your own against him and his Servant..." he mused, with a smirk on his face. "You took my son away, I can't forgive you for that, but still… You might be useful to me... Work with me, Shun Akemi. Work with me and atone for what you've done."

With that, he put on his coat, turned off the lamp on his desk and exited the room, heading home.


	5. Deep in Thought

Chapter 5: Deep in Thought.

The following day…

Kazuki woke up in the morning. He checked the time on his phone and drew a sigh of relief. He was on time and there was no need to rush for school. After he had his breakfast with tea and he had prepared himself, putting on his uniform, he headed out of his house, on his way to the Misaki Municipal High School.

It was a normal, sunny morning. Kazuki attended his classes of the day calmly, without many worries.

" _Today it's definitely different than yesterday..."_ he thought. In fact, there were no tests for him that day.

At lunch time, the gray-haired boy bought his lunch at the cafeteria, then he headed in class. He enjoyed solitude. Whenever he was alone, he thought. Solitude was a time of reflection for him. He could be miscalled a loner because of it, but he was anything but. In fact, after eating his lunch, he went out in the hallway, searching for company. Among the groups of students strolling about, he found Sayaka, chatting with a classmate of hers, a girl with long black hair and brown-orange eyes.

"Do you know how is he doing, Chiyoko-chan?"

"No, Sayaka-chan… I can't contact him..."

He also recognized the girl she was talking with: Chiyoko Ryoki. She was the youngest daughter of Goro Ryoki, the wealthy leader of an industrial corporation., but, oddly enough, she had nothing of the arrogance her father showed whenever he was in public. In fact, she was a kind and caring girl. She also had a strong will and good wit.

"He's far away now, in Germany..." She looked a little sad as she was talking.

"Don't worry, Chiyoko-chan!" her friend tried her best to cheer her up. "I'm sure he thinks of you every single day.". It seemed she had succeeded, a small smile appeared on Chiyoko's face.

"Thank you, Sayaka-chan..." She then closed her eyes and leaned her head back, thoughtfully "Yeah, knowing him, he probably is thinking… I don't know if it's about me, though..." the red-haired girl listened to her carefully.

"He's pretty thoughtful, but he can be bashful at times." she then said, as a sly glint appeared in her eyes "He is both like and unlike your Aokage-kun."

"C-C-Chiyoko-chan!" she exclaimed, her face as red as a tomato "Now don't be like that!"

"Tee-hee!" she giggled playfully. It was then that the two girls noticed Kazuki near them. He was amused by the chat between the two girls.

"Oh, hi, Kazuki-kun!" she put up a smile and greeted him, even though her face was still red.

"Speak of the devil..." Chiyoko mused "Don't you know it's rude to overhear others' conversations, Aokage-kun?"

"I'm sorry, Ryoki-san." he tried to reply as calmly as he could manage, but his tone betrayed his embarrassment with the situation "I didn't mean to overhear..."

"Well, I'm leaving you two alone for now. See you later, Sayaka-chan!"

"See you later, Chiyoko-chan!"

The two waved at each other with beaming smiles, then Sayaka and Kazuki strolled through the hallway.

"What were you two talking about?" the gray-haired boy asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, it's just about the boy she likes..." the girl answered earnestly, even though her embarrassment from earlier still hadn't completely gone away

"That German Hans guy?"

"Yes, it's him."

"If I remember correctly, he had to leave the country last year..."

"Yeah… And it was the year they met..." the teal-eyed girl hung her head in melancholy "He had managed to warn her just in time, but it's still sad..."

"I wonder why he had to go away in such a hurry..." Kazuki said, cupping his chin with his hand.

"Well, there are reasons. Chiyoko once told me that her father didn't like Hans very much..." Sayaka answered.

"Oh yeah?" Kazuki exclaimed in surprise.

"She also told me that he's had a complicated family life, with place changes at the order of the day…" she mused. "I hope he didn't change his heart, along with his house..."

"I wish I could say something, but I can't..." Now it was the gray-eyed boy who hung his head. After a few seconds he rose it back up, thoughtfully.

"Everything changes in the world, and we can't do anything to stop it." he said "Thats why it's important for oneself to have a point of reference, something that never changes."

"And what could it be?" she asked. After thinking about it carefully, he answered:

"There are many. You can find them either in the past or in the present. It must be something you believe in, otherwise, it isn't of any use..."

Beep, beep, beep.

A beeping sound was repeated in loop. It came from a small bracelet Sayaka was wearing.

"Oh, sorry, Kazuki-kun!" she apologized, bowing "This bracelet beeps when I have to go back to class..."

"Which means I have to go back as well!" Kazuki replied. "Thank you, Sayaka! See you later!". He waved to her as he walked hurriedly to his class. His friend waved back to him as she did the same.

He then attended the remaining classes with no problems, then he went out of the school at the end of the lessons. He waved at Sayaka and Chiyoko as he walked away, as both of them had club activities that day. Sayaka was a member of the Origami club, while Chiyoko was a member of the Archery club.

As he walked back home, he rose his hand to the level of his eyes. That crystal blue light appeared again. Kazuki looked at it thoughtfully, then, still in his trance, rose his gaze to the sky as the blue light eventually vanished.

He was like he always was when he was alone, but not lonely, which is an entirely different thing…

Deep in thought.

"I wonder how Shun is doing..."


	6. Sorrowful Memories

Chapter 6: Sorrowful Memories

Shun Akemi was working in a café in the Shopping District of Misaki. There were many people who liked to take a break from their daily routine in that warm and cozy place which conveyed a sense of peace to everyone who entered. Shun wanted some of that peace for himself, and so he decided to work there as a member of the staff.

The former policeman was polishing one of the tables, after a customer used it, when one of his colleagues reached him and spoke to him

"Hey, Shun! There's some guy who's asking of you at that table over there." he said as he pointed his finger to a table placed not too far from the two of them. There was another young man sit at it, most likely a junior agent, waiting for the young black-haired man.

Shun went to the man and sit at his table.

"Good morning, Akemi Shun. I apologize for taking your time." he said, apologetically. Then, he showed to the black-haired man the first page of a newspaper.

" _After the string of murders which happened 6 months ago, the police is working hard to restore security in Misaki Town. Sadly, it is very difficult to guarantee the restoration of peace and safety after such a brutal accident, that deeply scarred the town. Ryoki Goro, president of the powerful Ryoki Corporation, with its biggest office located in Misaki, is suspected for being related to the murders, but his alibi seems to be as strong as iron. Moreover, it is impossible to ascertain the whereabouts of the material executor of the murders, known as Berserker, which had mysteriously disappeared at the end of the weeks of terror. It is also impossible to ascertain the circumstances of the death of Ryoki Hideki, son of Goro, whose corpse had been found in the scene of the last crime."_

Shun read the news coldly, as if he didn't care. After he had read it all, he rose his head back up, facing the junior agent, and said:

"What does all of this have to do with me?"

"Don't play dumb, captain Akemi!" the young man said, his tone of voice rising slightly "I'm asking you to come back to us! With your help, I know that we can get out of this impasse!" There was a moment of silence, but Shun's expression didn't change. Finally, he coldly said:

"If you don't wish to eat anything, please go away and leave the table for someone who might need it.". He stood up and moved away from the table. But the junior agent was far from done.

"And what about Torikawa Akane?" he continued. He was pleading him, and that sentence showed how serious he was about his words. In fact, it was so serious to make the black-haired man stop in his tracks.

"What do you think she would do?" he continued his plea "True, we've lost her back then, but it's also true that we would have never stopped the rage of that behemoth without you, or without that boy who managed to fend him off… And yet, this story is not over yet. We must end it once and for all, and give back hope to the people of this town! Isn't that why you joined us in the first place?" Shun stood still as the junior agent was speaking.

"We need you! The police needs you! Misaki needs you!"

The agent's plea did get through to Shun, even if it couldn't be seen, but still, he was unconvinced. He didn't think that it would have been a good idea to come back. After thinking about it, he finally shook his head and walked away.

"We're not giving up on you, captain Akemi! You're wasted here!" the junior agent said. He could understand the reasons why he didn't want to come back, but he also knew that he was needed. "Contact us when you're ready. We'll be waiting for you." he said as he placed the calling card of the police on the table. He eventually picked it up and put it in his jacket pocket after the agent left.

After work, Shun went to the hospital to pick up Chouko, as he promised her the previous evening. She was overjoyed when she saw him enter her room.

"Onii-chan! You're here!" she shouted happily as she hugged him. "I was worried that you wouldn't come!". The black-haired man put her on her wheelchair and went out of the hospital with her. They eventually arrived at Misaki Park.

"Hey, Onii-chan, why do you look so sad?" she asked, noticing the grim look Shun had on his face.

"Oh." he said, trying to crack a smile for her "It's nothing, really."

"Did something happen?" she insisted.

"Yes." Shun said, not willing to explain "It's not anything worth losing your smile for, ok?"

"Ok." she finally said, giving up her attempt to get to know what happened to him. "Being with you makes me smile, Onii-chan...". That last statement made Shun blush a bit. "But if Kazuki-kun was here, too, I''d be smiling even more!"

"What, do you want to play a prank on him?" he asked, giving his known faint smile. "I don't know how you can actually do that in your conditions..."

"Hey, I'm not in such a bad shape!" she replied, with a frown, puffing her cheeks. Then, with a smile, she added: "Besides, the doctor said that my disease seems to be almost gone! I might be discharged from the hospital soon, you know?" A light lit Shun's eyes at those words, even though it couldn't be noticed at a first glance.

"And so, the tarot cards were right again!". The black-haired man was visibly annoyed by the path the conversation was taking.

"You're talking about those again, Chouko?" he said, bitterly "You know I don't believe in such ridiculous stuff!"

"Oh come on, Onii-chan!" the girl protested "I can do little else in the hospital room!". Suddenly, an idea flashed in her head "I'll draw some for you!". She picked a stack of tarot cards from her pocket and, after shuffling them, drew the one she got. It was the tarot card of the Hanged Man. She stared at it intently, then she gave bad news "You won't be lucky tonight..." Shun sighed of annoyance at her words.

"You will never admit it, but I've never been wrong, Onii-chan!" she explained sensibly, trying to convince the former policeman "You have all the rights not to believe me, but still, please be careful! If not for anything else, just do it for me!"

"Okay, okay, fine." he said, not wanting to continue. However, his hopes of ending the conversation were dashed when he noticed her plucking another card from the stack.

"As for tomorrow..."

She had drawn the Wheel of Fortune.

"You will meet your Fate… I can't say for sure if it will be good or bad, though...".

Chouko's insistence was making Shun scowl harder.

Eventually, the two arrived over the small pond in the park. The light of the sunset was reflected on the water, which was tinged with gold.

"It's beautiful..." Chouko murmured, mesmerized by the wonder in front of her and Shun. Suddenly, she remembered something.

"Oh, I have something for you, Onii-chan!" she said as she picked something else from her pocket. It was a folded white scarf. "I made this for you." she said as she gave it to the black-haired man, who took a look at it.

"Nice. Thank you, Chouko." he commented.

"It took me some nights to sew it..." she mused. Those words angered Shun.

"What?" he scolded her "I've told you a thousand times you mustn't stay up late!" At that, the girl bowed her head. She was greatly saddened by the black-haired young man's reaction.

"I'm sorry..." she sadly murmured. "Why do I always get scolded..."

"I scold you because I'm worried about you!" Shun continued, even though he adjusted his voice tone a bit. "Staying up late is bad for your health, don't you know?" Chouko stayed silent, listening. "Promise me you'll get more rest from now on, ok?".

"I will..." she replied, her cheeks puffed "But only if you'll take care of that scarf! You got it?"

"All right, your Majesty!" the black-haired man finally said. "It's a deal, then.".

"Done!" she said, happily "Hey, can you wear it?"

"Now?" Shun was taken by surprise by the sudden request.

"Yes! I'm curious to see how you look with it!". He let out a sigh of annoyance, and then he put the scarf around his neck, one end of it hanging from his shoulder.

"So, is it okay, Your Majesty?" he asked as he put himself in front of Chouko's face, ready to inspect him. The girl adjusted the scarf's placement on his neck a little, then, with a beaming smile, she said "Yes! You look so cool!". Shun took the end of the scarf falling from his neck in his hand and looked at it.

"It's beautiful..." he commented "How did you learn to make a scarf like this?"

"Onee-chan taught me how to sew a long time ago..." Those words sparked sad thoughts in the girl that pronounced them, as well as in the young man that was hearing them. Shun's mind went backwards, reminiscing past times, beginning from his talk with Kazuki the day before, which touched the same subject.

"Onii-chan… As long as we'll remember her, she will always be with us, won't she?" she asked, with melancholy in her voice. Shun's thoughtful silence was the only answer she received.

"What do you think she would say if she could see how we're doing?" she kept asking, and once again, the black-haired young man beside her answered her with nothing but silence. To that, Chouko decided to add her own answer.

"I think she would be happy..." she said. After all, the three of them were all trying to move on from her loss, trying to rebuild their life, despite the scars that will never heal…

Shun and Chouko gazed at the golden pond with thoughtful eyes, their minds filled with sorrowful memories…

 _A gray-haired young man with a white hooded jacket was lying on the ground, heavily wounded. He was crawling towards the wall standing some metres far from him. His sight was clouded, obstructed by the blood falling on his eyes, but still, he knew that there was someone up ahead, even though he couldn't see her…_

 _He heard a sound of footsteps. Three agents of the police had come. The one leading the squad, a young, black-haired man, instantly recognized the wounded boy._

" _Kazuki!" he shouted as he approached his friend "What happened?"_

" _Shun..." he weakly replied, he was focusing all his energies on crawling towards the wall._

" _Stop it!" the policeman said "You'll make it worse!". Right as he said those words, Kazuki had lost strength in his limbs and could do nothing but lie down on the floor and move his hand in front of him, pointing the finger towards the wall._

" _Shun, it's Torikawa-san..."_

 _At those words, Shun rose his head and the scene he witnessed left him speechless. There was someone, indeed. A policewoman was sit, her back against the wall. She was death-pale and her wounds were even worse than Kazuki's._

" _Akane!" Shun screamed as he ran towards the woman. Kazuki tried again to crawl to the two of them, but he was stopped by the other members of the police squad._

" _Don't strain yourself, boy!" one of them told him as he took him away, shouldering him along with one of his colleagues._

" _We need an ambulance ASAP!" another policeman called on the phone "Here are two people in need of medical assistance!"._

 _But the policemen were not the only ones witnessing the scene. There was a young girl who had seen the behemoth in golden armor before and had hidden herself from him until he appeared to have gone away. Then, she got out of her hiding spot and saw the policemen. She was left horrified as well seeing the wounded policewoman on the wall._

" _Onee-chan!" she screamed, running towards her sister, but she was prevented from approaching by another policeman near her. He was in Akane's squad._

" _Akane!" Shun was near her, though. He crouched beside her and held her hand, which was lying on her lap. "Stay with me!"_

" _Shun..." she answered weakly._

" _Save your energy!" the policeman said "The ambulance is coming!"_

" _It's too late..." Akane uttered "This is the end for me..."_

" _No!" Shun pleaded. Akane took his hand in hers and made him touch her wounds. "Akane! Please!"_

" _We had to expect this, Shun..." Akane continued. She was trying her best to keep herself conscious, so that she could talk to her loved one "No, we did fear this would happen..."_

 _Shun lowered his head in desperation. Chouko, who was witnessing the scene, was about to cry. Tears were warping her vision._

" _I… I can't see your face..." she said. Shun rose his head back up, took her hand and put it on the side of his face._

" _Could you do something for me?" the dying policewoman asked her boyfriend. He listened carefully._

" _I ended up like this to protect those I love… Will you be by their side for me?"_

" _Those you love?" Shun couldn't help but ask._

" _Chouko-chan… Aokage-kun..." she said. "Cherish them… With all you've got...". Shun nodded in response to her girlfriend's request._

 _She was beginning to lose her strength. Chouko fell on her knees in despair._

" _I'm glad I've met you..." Finally, Akane said her last words._

" _I… I love you, Shun..."_

 _Her eyes closed and her head bent down, like a weight. Chouko, understanding that she had just lost her big sister, burst in tears._

 _Her pain added to Shun's. He couldn't accept it._

" _No..."_

 _He held her hand with both his hands. He finally cried out in despair._

" _Don't leave me! Please!"._

 _He couldn't deny what he was seeing, hearing, feeling, despite wishing with all his heart that he could. He beat his fist on the ground in pain and sorrow, as he began to tear up as well…_

 _The woman he loved the most had died before his eyes._


	7. White Hood (pt1)

Chapter 7: White Hood

After his school hours, Kazuki had arrived home. He left his school bag inside, but he wasn't going to stay there for long. He decided to go for a walk, and so, he changed out of his uniform and put on his favorite white hooded jacket. After carefully closing the doors, he left his house. He strolled in town, passing in front of the cafe where his friend Shun worked. The bartender took notice of him.

"Hey boy! You're that Shun guy's friend, aren't you?" he asked, cordially.

"Yes, actually I am…" he was taken aback by the man's greeting, but he answered nonetheless "I suppose you're a colleague of his..."

"Look, if you're looking for him, he got out about six hours ago..." He shook his head.

"I guessed as much..." Kazuki replied. Then, he kept on walking "Good afternoon.". The barman waved him off as well.

As he walked, the gray-haired boy rose his gaze to the heavens, in pensive mood. The sky was dyed scarlet by the gentle light of the sunset. It was an enchanting sight, one of the kind that someone like Kazuki would stare at for hours, one capable of sparking a rain of thoughts into the heads of dreamers.

Unfortunately, his trance was interrupted by the sound of a ringtone. He was getting a phone call. He picked up the phone and answered "Hello?"

"Good afternoon, Aokage-kun!" said a calm female voice from the phone. "How is today going?"

"Ah, good afternoon, Tohno-san!" he replied, quite anxiously "So far, my day went well. How is yours going?". The boy's nervous tone made the woman chuckle, then she answered:

"Same here. Do you happen to have any news about Kuro?" she asked. There was expectation behind her voice.

"Takagi-san? I'm sorry..." Kazuki answered, his tone becoming thoughtful "But I haven't seen him for a month. Must have to deal with a lot of work..."

"I see..." The woman was slightly disappointed.

"Well, the last time I had seen him, he told me that he had to work on a hard case, that apparently no one had been capable to solve..." He explained.

"Yeah, he had told me the same." she replied "But I can't help being worried about him, given the nature of his job..."

The woman stopped talking, and anxiety grew in the gray-haired boy on the phone, who couldn't help but ask "Tohno-san? Is something the matter?"

"I can sense something… It seems to be something dangerous" she answered. He could tell she was tensing up, but her voice scarcely contained any trace of fright.

"Can you tell me exactly where do you sense it?" Kazuki had a feeling about what she was talking about.

"Not far from the mansion, under the hill."

"I'll be there in no time!" the boy steadily increased the pace of his walk as he talked "Can you see if there are any people down there?"

"I don't see any." the woman replied.

"Thanks." Kazuki said, gratefully, before hanging up the phone and putting it back in his pocket. Then, he ran to the location given by the woman. Upon his arrival, he noticed creaking and faint steps from a nearby building. He put both his hands behind his back and released some small sparks of blue light from them. The sparks flew in the windows of the building as if they were fireflies, and a few seconds later a brilliant blue light shone inside it. Two people, a man and a woman appeared. Blood was leaking from their bodies, staining their clothes and dripping from their eyes and mouths. Their eyes were blank. Kazuki gasped at their sight, stepping back.

"Ru...unn..." the woman uttered weakly. Both her and the man were in pain. The gray-haired boy's expression calmed, as he was quick to grasp the situation he was in. He stood where he was, simply shaking his head in refusal. He closed his eyes, preparing himself. The two cried out in pain as they both charged towards Kazuki.

"Don't worry..."

Kazuki whispered as his eyes quickly opened, revealing light blue irises and a golden light in the center of the pupils. He hit the woman and the man with the palms of his hands, with strength and speed, as they came to him, repelling both of them.

"Soon, you'll be yourselves again..."

...

 _Berserker had just missed the policewoman standing before him, but this time he was sure to hit her with his sword, since she was beginning to feel the tiredness weighing on her body and on her mind. Suddenly, the warrior clad in golden armor saw an owl appearing from the wall near the two of them and lunging towards him. He avoided it and tried to slash it, but it dissolved as the edge hit it. It was then that the brute noticed something. A young man with a white hooded jacket was standing before him, the hood covering his head. A katana was hanging at his left side. His eyes had shining blue irises and a faint golden gleam could be seen in his pupils._

" _A… Aokage-kun…?" the policewoman said, surprised of seeing the boy there. Berserker roared at him and charged towards him._

" _No!" the policewoman yelled, fearing for the boy's life. He quickly avoided Berserker's slash and punched him in the back. He had managed to deal damage to him, as a slight groan of pain escaping from the brute proved._

" _I'm sorry you had to see this, Torikawa-san..." the boy said. His words were for the policewoman behind him._

" _Aokage-kun..." Her answer was thoughtful. She had just witnessed a side of him that she never knew of. It wasn't a full show of it, but he still had exposed himself._

" _Don't worry, I can handle this!" he finally said, drawing his katana and preparing himself to confront the brute. With another roar, Berserker swung his sword, but his opponent was quick to repel the slash with his katana._

" _Be careful!" Akane shouted to his young friend as he fought._

 _Kazuki skillfully parried all of Berserker's slashes and, when he was open, he hit him with a roundhouse kick. He was about to hit him with the other leg as well, however the brute managed to grab the leg and hit it with the sword's handle, in an attempt to break it. He could still use it, though. Berserker swung his sword once again, but Kazuki moved aside and punched him in the chest, pushing him back. He then hit him on the same spot with the leg that his opponent tried to break, pushing him even further. He then charged at his opponent with his katana, and so Berserker found himself on the defensive. After various blocks from his opponent, he managed to land a slash on his chest, when…_

" _That's enough!" an arrogant voice said as red lightning bolts thundered from behind Berserker towards Kazuki, who managed to block the attack with his katana. The brute tried to seize the moment and hit his opponent, but he jumped back just in time. However, another person was already right behind him, a young man in black jacket, wearing a cap, hitting him in the back with a flying kick. The strike pushed Kazuki towards Berserker, who punched him in the chest._

" _Aokage-kun!" Akane shouted as she saw that the boy was in danger. She tried to shoot the young man with the cap with her handgun, but he parried all the shots with his hand, which was glowing of a red the other hand, he signaled to the brute behind him to step back, to which he complied with great submission. Kazuki tried to hit him with a 180 degree swing of his sword, but the young man defended himself with the same hand that protected him from the bullets._

" _Sorry to cut in!" The man said, with a smirk._

 _The gray-haired boy tried to hit his opponent with a kick, but he jumped back, only to lunge back at him and hit him with a barrage of punches, each one getting stronger and stronger. Some of the punches managed to hit their target, others didn't, as he managed to block them. The last punch of the combo was grabbed by Kazuki as it was about to land on his chest, but it wasn't enough: a red lightning bolt sparked from the fist and struck the boy, putting him in intense pain. Also, it weakened his block, reaching his chest._

" _Pretty persistent, are we?" the young man with the cap commented, amused. He hit Kazuki's forehead with a headbutt. Kazuki stepped back, and so Berserker was able to grab him and pin him onto the ground. His forehead was slammed on the floor. He could turn it, but he couldn't rise it, as the brute's hand held it still. He coughed up a gush of blood, which stained the floor, and blood was about to trickle down on his face._

" _Let him go!" Akane shouted once again, and tried to shoot him once more, but he caught all the bullets and launched them back at her. She crouched in order to avoid them, but the man with the cap seized the moment to lunge at her and hit her in the stomach with a fist empowered by red lightning. The policewoman spurted blood from her mouth as well as she couldn't do anything but lay on the wall behind her._

" _I need to talk a little with your friend." he said, before moving away and going back to Berserker and the boy pinned down by him. At his partner's sign, the brute stood up and he took his place, pinning Kazuki down. He made his head turn, checking his neck for something, a sign, a seal…_

" _What?" There wasn't a trace of the seal on his neck. He checked his left arm_

" _Are you kidding me?" there was nothing of the sort, not even there. He checked his right arm, but it was clean as well._

" _You're a magus, but you're not a Master?" he said. His frustration was clear to be seen. He stood up and punched a wall._

" _Dang it!" he shouted. He then turned his head to the woman lying on the wall. She was bleeding._

" _What a bloody mess! I hate killing people for no reason!" he commented, with a bored tone._

" _You son of a- ugh!" Kazuki said. He was heavily wounded from his fight. The man with the cap looked back to him. "Please, tell me that you do at least know about all of this..." His stare was cruel, yet it had something in it that slightly resembled a plea._

" _That guy's name… Was Berserker, right…?" the gray-haired boy replied, with difficulty because of his wounds "You must be… His Master…!"_

" _Phew, good." He sighed of relief, then he moved down the sleeve of his jacket in one swift motion, revealing a strange symbol drawn on the skin of his right arm. It was divided in three pieces and was glowing of a faint red light "Correct. I could see that you were holding back, was it for that policewoman?"_

" _What do you… know?" Kazuki angrily uttered, glaring at him. Blood was beginning to trickle down on his face._

" _Is she a friend of yours?" He almost made the boy snap with his reply. In fact, he clenched his fist and moved his arm._

" _Don't you dare talk about- ugh!" the pain from his wounds prevented him from moving any further. The man came closer as he took off his cap, revealing his black hair. He crouched down to him and grabbed the hood of the white jacket, so that his brown-red eyes could stare right into the gray orbs of the boy on the floor._

" _I could say the same. There's a reason for this. It's nothing personal, but I have to do this, you don't know anything about it." His expression was serious as he talked._

" _Then… Why…?" Kazuki asked, still glaring at him. At that question, a smirk rose on the young man's face_

" _Why don't you find that out for yourself?" he replied. He then let go of the hood of the white jacket and walked away. The boy tried to crawl towards Akane, but the drops of blood were falling on his eyes, clouding his vision._

" _I could sense what you can really do, boy." the man with the cap said as he left the alley with his Servant. "You know what? I like you."_

 _..._

These memories flashed in the boy's mind as he pushed back the two.


	8. White Hood (pt2)

Chapter 8: White Hood (pt. 2)

After the man and the woman were pushed back by Kazuki's strikes, their bodies convulsed. Something struggled to get out from them and, finally, managed to do so. Two black shadowy streams erupted from the mouths of the two and merged into an only black shadowy form. Two red eyes opened in the black mass.

There was no mistake. It was a demon. It was possessing the man and the woman. It sprung razor-sharp claws and lunged towards the motionless gray-haired boy, tearing his body into pieces. He then slowly moved back where he was before, above the two possessed, when…

The lines of black matter which were linking the fiend to the bodies of the victims passing through their mouths were cut by a katana. The one holding the blade was Kazuki, with the golden light shining in his eyes, He had just jumped on the lines, slicing them.

"Oops." he said, showing his katana to the fiend.

Immediately, the demon called back the dark matter from the bodies of the man and the woman, which erupted from their mouths, fusing with the main black mass. As the dark matter had completely abandoned the man and the woman, they fell to the ground, unconscious. Their wounds were healed, but a faint red glint on them showed that they were still linked to the demon, which was feeding on their energy.

The fiend finally took a bear-like form, his razor-sharp claws coupled with fearsome fangs.

" _This one seems to be relatively basic..._ " Kazuki thought, preparing himself for battle " _Originated from grief..._ "

The demon rose its head and let out a mighty roar. In response, a swarm of grunts and beastly shrieks could be heard. Kazuki quickly understood what that meant.

"Calling Ghouls? Now that's new..." he commented, with bitter irony. He already had a plan of action in mind.

" _The first thing I have to do is to drag the demon and its ghoul companions in a place where I can be sure that no one can see them, only then I'll be able to destroy them without any holdback of sorts._ "

Soon, the source of these beastly cries reached the area. They were, in fact, Ghouls, undead deprived of brain and soul. There were 6 of them.

Kazuki sheathed back his katana and ran away, knowing that the demon and the Ghouls would follow him. He ran until he found the place he was looking for: a lone alley. He ran in there, followed by the fiends, and, when he got at the dead end, he stopped in his tracks and turned quickly. One could assume that he had just got himself cornered by the fiends, but that wasn't true…

They were the rats caught in the trap.

Two of the six Ghouls lunged at the white-hooded boy, who, in response, swung a spinning kick in the air. A stream of water erupted from the wall behind him, moved at high speed, its course guided by the direction of the kick, and beheaded the two attackers, before flowing back to where it came from. What remained of their bodies was just elbow struck away by the boy.

The demon and two of the four remaining Ghouls charged towards him, the former was ready to slaughter the boy with his fangs, but he ran on the wall and jumped from it, above the fiends. Objects shining of blue light appeared in his hands. They were four kunai. He threw them at the Ghouls, hitting them in the chest. After they had reached their target, the kunai shone even brighter and multiple cuts appeared on the bodies of the Ghouls. They let out a cry of agony and crumbled to the floor, as the kunai that had given them their final rest vanished.. Now there were only Kazuki and the demon.

A brilliant blue light burned once more on the white-hooded boy's left arm, as the demon charged towards him, with murderous intent. He blocked the assault of the fiend with another construct of blue light: three katanas, held in his fist as if they were a giant claw. He pushed away the assaulter and swung his claw to attack it, but it took one of the light blades with his fangs, breaking it. The pieces dissolved in the air.

Kazuki moved in, attacking with his katana, and landed some slashes on it, blocking it with the light blade claw, which now was of two blades, whenever it tried to hit him with its claws. It charged, but the boy moved aside and slashed it with the claw.

The shadowy bear's movements were now pained and hindered. It was wounded and weakened, but it still looked menacing, with its ferocious growl and its bare fangs. In response, the white-hooded boy threw at it a cold and piercing glare. The fiend couldn't move of a millimeter anymore, its limbs were frozen in place, as if there were nails on them. It continued to growl ferociously against the boy, who moved closer. His light blade claw dissolved and he took hold of his katana with both of his hands. He then lunged towards the demon and sliced through it. As he sheathed back the sword, the fiend cried of agony as it split in two halves that burned out in blue flames. In a few seconds, there was nothing left of it.

The boy heard footsteps in his direction and shot his head back up, his hood falling from his head and his eyes going back to their gray color. It was a woman with long black hair and deep blue eyes.

"I knew you would have come here, Aokage-kun." she said.

"You know my creed, Tohno Akiha-san." he answered her "I simply act according to it. The less people see this, the better."

"Yes..." Akiha smiled, closing her eyes "You always worry about others and what they have to lose from witnessing this… That's just like you..." then her eyes shot back open, her expression turned serious again "But you can't hope to be always able to conceal it, you know?"

Kazuki knew that there was truth in the woman's words. His body tensed up as she talked. He lowered his head.

"I understand that." he said. "But I don't want others to suffer because of me. This is my fight, and no one will bear its burden but me."

"I see..." Her expression turned into a melancholic one "But the question is, can you do it?" At those words, the boy froze again.

"No matter how hard you try, there will always be a person or two who will get tangled up in your struggle..." Akiha continued, making Kazuki growl from bitterness.

"I know..." he said. "Sometimes, I get reminded..."

"It's not always a bad thing, though." She concluded, with a faint smile on her face. The boy's head jolted back up. Her smiling face gave him some peace.

"Come, now. It's time to help those two victims back in their bodies." she said as she walked away. The boy followed her until they reached the man and the woman that the demon was possessing. They woke up as Kazuki and Akiha arrived. They looked like they had just woke from a nightmare.

"Wha… What happened?" the woman asked, frightened.

"It's alright." Akiha said as she got closer, crouching down to them. "You just had a terrible nightmare, that's all."

"It… It was so real..." the man added. He was just as scared as the woman.

"Still, there's no need to worry about. It's over." she concluded. She then rose up ad helped them to stand back up.

"You can go now, Aokage-kun." she told her young companion. "Thanks for your help."

"If I see Takagi-san again, I will tell you right away." the boy replied as he walked off.

"Ok. Thanks again!" the woman smiled while waving him off.

Before long, Kazuki was back in town, strolling in the streets, immersed in his thoughts, which had taken a darker color because of what he had experienced.

"Yeah… Sometimes, I get reminded..."

 _A heavily wounded boy was being carried by two policemen. They were trying to carry him on the roadside, so that he could be loaded on an ambulance as soon as possible._

" _Where could this guy have got all of his wounds from?"_

" _I don't know..." his colleague, who was helping him, replied "Let's just hurry and take him to safety!" As soon as he had finished talking, a car came in their direction and stopped by them. It was black, but it had small, yet bright red and blue lights. Behind the wheel was a man in his thirties with short dark brown hair and brown eyes behind a pair of glasses._

" _Hand him over to me!" he told them "I'll take him to a safe place." The two instantly recognized the man._

" _Detective Takagi!" one of the policemen exclaimed._

" _Hurry, this guy is pretty messed up!" the other one said as they loaded him on the black car. As they did it, they closed the car door and the vehicle sped away. In the car, the boy could make up figures, since his forehead and eyes had been cleaned by the policemen who were carrying him, so he could see that there was another man sit on the front seat near the driver. However, he couldn't recognize him in time. He collapsed due to his exhaustion from his wounds and the battle he had fought. As he closed his eyes, a faint blue light shined in his wounds._

" _Um, sir?" the man near Takagi noticed what was happening to the boy and made notice of it to his superior._

" _Officer, you mustn't tell anyone about this, got it?" the detective ordered to his colleague._

" _Roger that, sir." he answered, obediently. Still he looked at the boy's body and noticed that his wounds were slowly healing. Soon, they had already arrived at Takagi's house. They placed him on the bed._

" _I'll stay here with him while he recovers. What will you do, officer?" he asked his colleague._

" _I'll stay here as well, sir!" he answered. "I will help out when he will wake up. I also have some info for you and for him."_

" _Understood." he replied. Meanwhile, blood was slowly going back into the wounds it leaked from, while those were closing._

 _He recovered overnight and woke up the following morning. As he rose from the pillow, the detective woke up as well. He had slept lain beside the bed, so that he could wake up whenever something happened._

" _Kazuki, you're awake." he greeted him as he rose._

" _What… Where am I?" Kazuki asked. He was surprised to wake up in there._

" _This is my house." Takagi explained. "You were badly injured, so I took you here. Your powers seem to have healed you..." As he had finished talking, the officer that was with him came in._

" _You were..." Kazuki exclaimed as he saw him._

" _Yes, I managed to survive Berserker's attack thanks to you and Torikawa-san, then detective Takagi found us while you were being carried away and I went with him… I am in your debt, thank you."_

" _Torikawa-san..." That name sparked a reaction in the boy, something that quickly turned in fearful anticipation as he remembered the events of the previous night. He got out from the bed and asked:_

" _Where is she now?"_

 _At the question, Takagi and his colleague could answer with nothing but a sorrowful silence. Kazuki froze in place._

" _No..." he murmured. The realization of the terrible truth came to him quickly. In rage, he hit the nearby wall with both of his fists. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore, as they streamed down his face. Takagi came to him and embraced him._

" _I'm sorry, Kazuki." That's all he could say to his friend, as he sobbed violently._

" _I… I couldn't protect her..." he uttered, in between sobs._

" _No one of us had been able to, Kazuki..." the detective continued, trying to console the boy. He didn't stop sobbing, however, he slowly escaped his embrace and put his arms on the detective's shoulders. After some time, he stopped sobbing, slowly rising his head. His face was still contorted in an expression of deep sorrow._

" _You know she would hate seeing you like this." Takagi continued. "She wanted to protect you, and she died doing just that."_

" _She was a policewoman at heart..." the officer added. Those phrases were meant to cheer up the boy, but they sorted the opposite effect. Kazuki's head fell again and he choked back a few more sobs._

" _She wanted to protect others, and now she won't be able to… Because of me..."_

" _No! It wasn't your fault!" the detective told him."What do you think we should say?". The boy was still in deep pain, but the words got to him. Takagi pulled him in another embrace. His warmth would have never been enough to wipe away the sorrow, but still, he tried._

" _I'm sorry, Kazuki. I'm so sorry..." His own voice trembled while he said the words to the boy, tears were threatening to fall from his own eyes. Eventually, Kazuki pulled off again and sat on the bed. He seemed to have calmed down._

" _And Shun?" he asked._

" _We can only imagine his despair..." the officer said "He was the closest to her among us, after all..."._

" _Enough." Takagi said. "We're all mourning her. She was a valuable agent, and a true friend. She always did her best in protecting people and their smiles. Among us, it is hard to find someone as proud of his job as she was... The best we can do for her is to keep doing our best in what we do as well. That is all she would wish for."._

 _Everyone stayed there, silently approving the statement. The sorrow for the loss of a friend became the will to honor her by following her example._

 _Kazuki, sit on the futon, looked at his hands…_

 _Which slowly closed in fists..._


	9. Peaceful Evening

Chapter 9: Peaceful Evening.

Shun was walking back home. He had already taken Chouko back to the hospital. He felt safe knowing that she was safe. As he walked in a street, a man in black suit followed him…

The former policeman did sense something, he did feel that he was being followed. He stopped, and his stalker stopped as well, hoping to dissolve his suspects by not moving. Still feeling uneasy, Shun went on his way. As he passed in front of a window, he could see a man following him, reflected in the glass. The man in black didn't pay any attention to it, but Shun did.

After some time, the black-haired young man entered a small path between two buildings. His stalker followed him, but he couldn't see him at the end of the path. He went in there as well, increasing the pace of his walk, until he was in front of a small house's door. It was then that he was pinned on it from behind by none other than the man he was following.

"What do you want, creep?" Shun asked, in a ruff voice, filled with raging irritation.

"Hold on, I just need to talk to you!" the man tried to justify his actions. However, that explanation wasn't enough to calm down the former policeman.

"Why should I trust you?" he inquired.

"It's for my boss, he wants to see you!" he replied. At those words, Shun decided to let him off the wall, guided by his wish to know more. The man adjusted his suit and tie and pulled out a black calling card from an inner pocket of his jacket. There was a logo printed on it, the unmistakable logo of Ryoki Corporation.

"I work for Ryoki Goro." the man in black explained sensibly. "He ordered me to search for you."

The mere memory of the Ryoki name made the former policeman narrow his eyes in displeasure.

"What does your boss want from me?" he asked the man in black, still in his frustrated tone.

"He wants you to come to his office at 11 pm." was the answer. A tense silence came to pass.

"I'll come." Shun coldly replied. "Now go away." With nothing more left to say, the man in black walked away, his job done.

Meanwhile, Kazuki had come back home after helping out Akiha. He was sit, reading a book of poetry from one of his drawers. The words capable of summoning images in the minds of readers… He was incredibly fascinated by anything that could spark thoughts and emotions in him, image, word, or anything else.

Suddenly, he received another phone call. As he saw the name of the one making it, he cracked a smile. He answered.

"Hello?" he said.

"Oh, hello, Kazuki-kun!" It was Sayaka. "I'm just getting out from the origami club, so I was in the mood to talk a little..."

"Sure, why not!" Kazuki answered.

"It's kind of an apology for not coming today..." the girl said, her tone becoming sadder. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry." the gray-haired boy tried to reassure her. "I would have liked to see you, but if you feel tired from club activity, I understand. Your voice will be just fine, for now. Did you have fun?"

"Oh, yes! A lot!" Sayaka replied, happily "You know how much I love origami! You can say many things with only a small piece of paper..."

"And what about writing, Isn't that a way as well?" Kazuki attempted a joke, and it seemed to work, since Sayaka had giggled at the statement.

"Maybe, but I said just the paper, nothing else..." Sayaka said. "What about you, Kazuki-kun?"

"I'm fine, thanks." he replied. He couldn't bring himself to stay silent, he felt obligated to say something, but not entirely…

"I had to help out someone after school..."

"And who was it?" the redhead questioned her friend on the phone out of curiosity.

"Tohno Akiha-san. I think you know her." he answered.

"Oh yes!" she replied. "I do know her. She is really close to my family, to my mom and my aunt in particular..."

The boy stood silent at those words. In a silence of melancholy and reflection. What the girl had just said wasn't new to him. Sayaka then changed the subject of the talk, much to Kazuki's relief.

"Umm… You know that in a week we'll hold the school origami festival, right?" she asked, a bit shyly. "If you would come, we all of the club would be grateful..."

"Yes." Kazuki accepted. "I'll be there. It's something I won't miss."

"Really? Great!" Sayaka replied, happily. "We'll put our best origami on display!"

"Well, isn't that what the festival is about to begin with?" Another pun. They both giggled at it.

"Sorry, Sayaka..." the gray-haired boy said "I'm being terrible with puns..."

"It's alright!" the redhead replied happily. "They aren't that bad." At that comment, he couldn't help but smile.

"Please, say hi to your mom and dad from me!" Kazuki asked a favor to his friend.

"I will!" Sayaka accepted, as joyously as ever. "See you tomorrow, Kazuki-kun!"

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Sayaka." After saying those words, the boy hung up. He then sat on a chair in his kitchen, in pensive mood. He would have liked Sayaka to come for the evening, there was no denying it…

"But all for the better..." he murmured.

He rose his hand to his face, the familiar blue glow appearing on it.

"Yes, today something happened..."

Melancholy was on his face as he rose his head and gazed at the window.

...

Meanwhile, after a brief walk, Sayaka Inoue arrived home.

"I'm home!" she said brightly as she entered the house.

"Welcome back, Sayaka!" her parents greeted her back. The girl ran at them and hugged them.

"How's my darling little flower?" her father asked, affectionately. He had dark brown hair and hazelnut eyes.

"I'm fine, dad!" the girl happily replied as she was released from her parents' embrace.

"Have a bath and join us for dinner, Sayaka-chan." her mother added with a bright smile on her face "We can't wait to hear how your day went!" She had teal eyes and red hair, just like her daughter. Just, hers was shorter, while Sayaka's was longer.

After the loving reunion with her parents, the girl had a bath, as she was told, taking her time to relax. When she was done, she joined her parents at dinner. The members of the family discussed while they were eating.

"So, how did school go today?" her father asked.

"It went very well!" the girl said "I even had the Origami Club, today!" The statement made a smile appear on both her parents' faces. They knew how much their daughter loved origami.

"Do you know of any new gossip in school?" her mother asked, curious.

"Nothing new, besides Chiyoko-chan having her mind set on Hans-kun..."

"Hans Ritter?" her father exclaimed in surprise "Your friend is still bent on him? I've heard that her father doesn't approve of him..."

"Yeah, you're right, dad..." she replied thoughtfully "But even so, she loves him..."

"Speaking of which, what about Aokage-kun?" her mother asked, still smiling. At that question, Sayaka couldn't help but blush…

"W-Well..." she uttered, embarrassed "I saw him at school and talked with him on the phone, nothing more..."

"Hmmm..." Her father had a slightly worried expression on his face "I don't like it when we talk about him..." Those words made concern build up in the girl as well.

"Dad..."

"Don't get me wrong, He's not the problem. I do know that he's a respectable young man..." he mused, still with an expression of worry "It's just that, whenever I think of some boy snatching you away from me..." A chill ran down his spine at the thought.

"Darling!" her mother frowned "Please stop it!" Then, she turned to face her daughter and asked "What did you talk about, anyway?"

"Well, he told me that he had to lend a hand to Akiha-san, and I told him about the upcoming school origami festival..."

"Akiha-sama?" astonishment was written on the red-haired woman's face. She asked her daughter "Did he tell you what he helped her out with?"

"No..." Sayaka said, her eyes shifting downwards. "I didn't ask him, sorry."

"It's ok, Sayaka-chan." her mother reassured. It was then that she remembered something. Something that couldn't help but crack a smile on her face.

"Oh, but he does wish you a good evening!" she said, saying hello to her parents on behalf of her friend. The words made her parents smile as well, even if a glimpse of jealousy could be seen in her father's eyes.

After dinner, the family decided to call it a day.

"Goodnight mom! Goodnight, dad!" she affectionately told her parents

"Goodnight, Sayaka-chan!" they lovingly replied.

The girl got in her bed. Her eyes were fixated on an object near her lamp. It was a butterfly origami, with purple and blue wings, crafted by her own hands as a lucky charm. She slowly fell asleep while watching it.

Meanwhile, Sayaka's parents were going off to bed. Her father noticed the worry staining his wife's teal eyes.

"Something's wrong?" he asked her.

"Oh, Haruki..." she was taken aback from her husband's intervention, but still, she answered. "I was thinking about Akiha-sama..."

"Hisui..." he held her in his arms. "If you're worried about her and your sister, we can visit her mansion tomorrow, after Sayaka's back from school..." he smiled warmly to her as she rose her face to meet his gaze.

"Do you wish to take Sayaka with us?" she asked.

"Well, we both know how fragile both are, despite putting all of their effort in trying to hide it, so I figured that some joy could help, especially regarding Kohaku-san..."

"Onee-chan..." a look of remembrance was now in her eyes. Kohaku's spirits lifted up whenever her niece visited her, and Hisui knew it.

"Don't worry." Haruki strengthened his embrace "I'm sure they're doing just fine."

Hisui smiled to her husband and buried her face in his chest once more. He made her feel safe and comfortable. Even if there was still uncertainty in her, she felt hopeful and confident with him.

"I hope so..."


	10. Bad Omen

Chapter 10: Bad Omen.

That night, Shun Akemi headed to the Ryoki Corporation Main Offices in Misaki as agreed earlier with the man in black, who was waiting for him at the door. While he was en route, the employee received a call from Goro.

"He's coming, sir." he said. On the other side of the phone, the businessman smirked.

"Very good!" he said "Probably he gave you a hard time when you came..."

"Yes sir, he did..." the employee answered.

"He's like that with us. Don't be offended." his employer continued on. "Take him to me, then I'll try to reason with him."

"Yes , Ryoki-sama!" the man in black hung up when Shun had arrived. He greeted with a slight bow, then he guided the black-haired man up to an office door. On it was written "CEO". Shun entered in the man's office, and the chair behind the desk in front of him turned, revealing the man who was waiting for him.

"Welcome to Ryoki Corporation, Akemi Shun."

Shun glared at the businessman and his hands closed in fists as the haunting memories of 6 months before came back. He was the man responsible for all of that, he and his son, and now he was in front of him.

"I need to talk to you. That's why I called you here." Goro explained sensibly.

"You and I don't have anything to tell each other." Shun coldly replied. The man had expected such a reaction.

"Yes, we do. And that glare of yours won't change it." He said, then, he politely invited the man to sit down in front of him. "Please, have a seat."

The black-haired young man reluctantly did as he was told, and Goro snapped a finger. His employee took a glass of wine and put it on the desk, near Shun. He glanced at the glass with a look of distrust in his eyes.

"Don't worry, it's not poison or anything, if you were wondering." Goro commented, noticing the distrust of the young man sitting in front of him. On his hand, Shun wanted to end it as soon as possible. He wanted to leave that man as soon as possible, hopefully not to meet him ever again.

"Just tell me what do you want, before I'm tempted to break your neck." he coldly demanded, making the businessman slightly chuckle. On the contrary, his employee was visibly frightened from the young man's declaration, and cold sweat was trickling down his face.

"If you'll just listen to me, I won't be long." he answered. He looked serene, despite the former policeman's threat "Tell me, boy, have you ever heard of the Holy Grail?"

A tense silence came to pass in the room. Then, Shun's words of disbelief broke it.

"Do you think I could possibly believe in such ridiculous stuff?" Goro's reply to such words was ready and quick.

"Ridiculous? Have you forgotten what happened 6 months ago?" The statement was meant to bring back memories into the one who was hearing it, and it did just that, much to Shun's pain and anger. The black-haired young man clenched his fists even harder. Goro continued on.

"You could see for yourself that there were people searching for it, ready to do anything in order to get it, I won't talk about their actions because you know damn well about those..." Shun felt the urge to beat the businessman down build up more and more inside him.

"What happened back then is more than enough proof of it Shun. The Holy Grail exists." Goro said "And whoever gets it can have anything he wishes for. Imagine what I could do with it!" As the employer talked, his employee tensed up, feeling the tension that was building up in the room.

"Don't worry, Shun." Goro said "If you accept to cooperate with me, I will be able to reward you most appropriately." He snapped a finger once again and his employee put on the table a case and opened it, revealing a million yen inside.

"This million yen is only one of the many opportunities open to you." he declared. After a few seconds, though, Shun got up and moved to the door. Resentment and an unpleasant stench of suspicion made him not even consider the CEO's offer.

"And what about your girlfriend's sister?" Goro's question made the young man stop in his tracks "I've heard that she's been ill for two months..."

At those words Shun snapped. He lunged towards the businessman, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him on the wall. That man had already ruined his life once, he couldn't let him do it a second time. The employee pulled out a gun from his jacket and pointed it to the former policeman

"What now, she wasn't enough, you son of a bitch?" he growled menacingly. "If you dare lay a finger on her sister, I will kill you!" His fists, holding Goro's collar, were trembling from rage. He felt that should have done it a long time before, and he himself didn't know why he didn't do it in the first place.

Despite that, the elderly businessman had a serene expression on his face and his mouth was curved in a slight smirk. The young man holding him saw nothing but malice in his red eyes, and his look made him boil even more.

"Stay away from me as well." With that last threat, Shun pushed Goro against the wall, before letting go of him and going away. The Ryoki worker was ready to follow the young man, but his employer stopped him.

"There's no problem. He will be back soon." he assured.

"How can you be so sure about that, sir?" his employee asked, voicing his doubts, as he put the gun back in his jacket.

"I don't have to tell you." Goro replied "Feel free to call it a business secret. You can go now." The worker obliged and left as well. Something shimmered in the businessman's eyes. They were glowing of an ominous light…

Meanwhile…

 _Kazuki opened his eyes and found himself lying on a grassy field, with a starry night sky above him. A shining full moon was before the boy's eyes in all of its splendor. His first instinct was to sit up, and he saw that a lake was right in front of him. The water reflected the moonlight, looking like it was glowing. It was a breathtaking sight._

 _Then, the boy noticed that the stars were becoming shinier and shinier. The glowing blue points slowly grew into lines, which then opened up. Soon, there were no more stars, but eyes, shining of a bright blue light, fixated on the boy._

 _Kazuki was confused and slightly unsettled by the sight that had just unfolded. It didn't help that the eyes were reflected by the lake, so Kazuki felt like there were even more eyes watching him…_

 _All of a sudden, the eyes began to shift from blue to red…_

 _Red light was everywhere…_

 _Even the moonlight became red..._

 _Everything became red…_

 _The earth trembled beneath Kazuki as the pupil in the eyes became straight, making them look like menacing cat eyes. On the moon two symbols, looking like demonic fangs, were carved…_

 _Crows began flying in the blood red sky, letting out unspeakable cries…_

 _Theirs were not ordinary raven cries, but inhuman shrieks of rage, suffering and despair._

Kazuki gripped the sheets of his bed and opened his eyes quickly, in fear. He had just woken up from a nightmare. His eyes had the blue and golden light in them, which quickly vanished as the boy returned to reality.

He sat up and looked around in the room. There was nothing different. He looked at the window of his room. He saw through it a clear, calm, peaceful night sky.

" _What the hell was that?_ " the boy wondered. " _What should that have meant? Was that even supposed to mean something?_ "

That bad dream had left him with those questions and a bad feeling.

" _If it had some meaning, it c_ _an't be_ _anything good..._ " he thought as he lied back down on the bed.

Eventually, he slowly drifted back off to sleep, but still, he was shaken by the nightmare he had just experienced. He inwardly knew…

It was a bad omen from the depths of his mind…


	11. Increasing Distance

Chapter 11: Increasing Distance

Kazuki began his morning as usual, having his breakfast and going to school. It looked like it was a day like the others, but the gray-haired boy sensed that it wasn't the case. The dream from the night before troubled him.

The boy attended the lessons as usual, doing his best to keep himself focused despite the thoughts running in his head. Then lunch time came. After buying his lunch, Kazuki headed to the school courtyard while eating it. As he walked, he glanced at a window, from which he could see a room from a distance. It was the origami room, used by the club. From the half-open door, he could catch a glimpse of the works in preparation for the awaited origami school festival hitting next week. However, a girl, another member of the club, came over and quickly closed the door, in order to prevent anyone from spoiling the surprise. Fortunately for her, the gray-eyed boy had barely seen anything.

"Kazuki-kun?" A girl asked shyly, right behind his back. Kazuki gasped as he quickly turned around. He saw that she was none other than Sayaka.

"It's you, Kazuki-kun!" Sayaka smiled, then, she greeted him with a small bow "Good morning."

"G-Good morning, Sayaka." the boy replied, inwardly sighing of relief, trying his best to hide his former startle. However, Sayaka took notice of it.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" she asked, with a slightly worried expression on her face, much to his dismay.

"Sorry, I had a weird dream last night..." he replied honestly, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, and what kind of dream was that?" she asked, out of curiosity.

"Eyes, eyes everywhere, staring at me. That's all I can remember..." he explained. If he could, he would have avoided the matter, but he felt obliged because of the circumstance, and answered in a way he felt safe enough with.

"I see..." Sayaka replied. "Well, if it can be of any help, I've read something on dreams about eyes in one of my dad's books… It could possibly mean that you feel watched, or burdened in some way..."

Kazuki felt that the meaning Sayaka had given him was true, and he had his reasons to believe it, even though that wasn't what he wanted to know. What he didn't know was why he had that dream then, of all times…

"Yeah, that might be the case… If that's it, I'll have to find out why… Thanks, Sayaka!" he told her, with a grateful gaze. Sayaka slightly blushed.

"W-Well, I thought that could be helpful, plus my dad always chooses the best books..." she said.

"Yeah, I know..." Kazuki replied "I think I might need one of those books, one of these days..." The statement made the redhead giggle sweetly.

"I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to help you out, in case you ever need it!" she said. It was then that she remembered something she had to tell him "Oh, speaking of which..."

"Huh?" Kazuki stood at attention, ready to hear the girl out. Sayaka lowered her eyes.

"I'll be visiting Akiha-san this afternoon..." she finally said.

"Is something wrong?" Kazuki asked, an expression of concern appearing on his face. Sayaka was taken aback by her friend's reaction, and quickly shook her head in refusal.

"No, Kazuki-kun! It's nothing serious!" she said. She then stopped her head and looked back at the boy "It's just that my mom thinks it's time to pay a visit..."

"I hope everything is going well..." the gray-haired boy murmured, thinking back to their conversation two days earlier. "I hope Tohno-san and Kohaku-san are fine..."

"I'm sure they are." Sayaka replied, with a bright smile. "They've gone along very well for a long time, after all!"

"Yeah, that's true..." Kazuki stated, some relief making its way in him. He turned to the window from which he had seen the origami room. His mind was cast in thoughts as his eyes roamed on the trees and the grass surrounding the room.

Sayaka found herself staring at him, her eyes were fixated on the boy's thoughtful, troubled face. She found him… Distant. Unreadable… Unreachable. She felt the need to reach him. She slightly extended her hand, without touching him.

"What about you, Kazuki-kun?" she asked "Do you have any idea of why you had that dream?" She was trying to return on that subject. Kazuki felt uneasiness well up inside of him, but he hid it and simply shook his head in refusal.

"Do you want me to he-?" She was interrupted by the sound of her alarm bracelet.

"Ah!" she said "Sorry, I must hurry back to my class...".

"D-Don't worry..." he replied "See you, Sayaka!"

"See you later, Kazuki-kun!" she waved at him as she hurried away. Kazuki inwardly sighed of relief. She was trying to delve deeper into him.

" _Who delves within me might put himself in danger..._ "

He had to keep her safe, to protect her from what he was experiencing. He had to hide it from her.

" _It_ _pains_ _me to no end, but..._ "

With these thoughts, the gray-haired boy headed back to class.

Sayaka was already in her classroom. She made her way to her desk and sat on her chair. She cupped her cheek with her hand, her elbow on her desk. She was in pensive mood.

" _Kazuki-kun..._ "

Chiyoko noticed that her classmate had something on her mind.

"Hey, Sayaka-chan!" she called "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes." she said as she noticed her friend "It's okay, Chiyoko-chan..."

"Thinking about Aokage-kun, are we?" she teased, causing the redhead to blush wildly.

"Chiyoko-chan!" she said "Why do you always have to do this? We're just friends!"

"Yes, yes..." Chiyoko replied "But, you've been friends for a long time!"

"Y-Yeah..." the black-haired girl's statement made Sayaka's mood shift back from embarrassed to thoughtful.

"Is something wrong between you two?" she asked her friend.

"Well..." Sayaka answered "Not really, it's just that… I think we're not as close as we used to be anymore..."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"Umm..." Sayaka lowered her gaze. "When he thinks of something, I can't read him. I've seen him with a troubled expression, most of the time, but I can't grasp why… We've known each other since we were children, and we were really close back then… But now I can feel the distance between us build up with each passing day…"

"Then why don't you try to close that distance?" Chiyoko suggested. "You should try spending more time with him until he opens up to you." The red-haired girl rose her head to her friend as she talked.

"Since you've known each other for so long, it shouldn't be that difficult, right?" Chiyoko continued "Just make sure you don't bring up this feeling of yours directly. It'll be solved by itself."

" _Yeah…_ _It might work..._ "

This thought made a smile slowly bloom on her face.

"Thank you, Chiyoko-chan! I'll definitely try it!" she thanked her friend.

"Don't mention it!" Chiyoko smiled back "Just tell me how it goes with your White Knight!"

"S-Stop it!" the redhead blushed uncontrollably once again.

After the classes of the day were done, Sayaka exited the school. She was walking in the street when she saw two children playing with a ball. At that sight, she couldn't help but think of past times…

 _Two children were playing in Misaki park, They were running around without a care. The air trembled with their joyful laughters._

" _Catch me if you can!" said one of them, with gray hair and eyes. The other one, a little girl with long red hair and teal eyes, was chasing him._

 _Eventually, the boy hid behind a tree, hoping to hide from her vision. Unluckily for him, the little girl took notice of some gray hair sticking out from behind the trunk, and silently approached him, occasionally hiding behind nearby trees herself. Eventually, she caught him._

" _Tag! You're it!" she said as she touched him._

" _Dang it..." he murmured as he cowered on the trunk, closing his eyes._

" _K-Kazuki?" the girl asked, surprised by the boy's move. He was laying on the trunk._

" _Kazuki?" she was confused and slightly worried. She approached him._

 _Suddenly, the boy tried to grab her as she was approaching, but the girl managed to leap back in time._

" _Hey! No fair!" she complained._

" _I tried, but it didn't work..." the boy murmured, unsatisfied._

" _You didn't get me!" she chimed as she resumed running and the boy came after her._

 _They used to spend many days like that in Misaki park…_

"Heeeey!"

Suddenly, Sayaka's reminiscence was interrupted by the cry of complaint of one of the children.

"What have you done? The ball's on the tree!" he complained, with a frown, his index finger pointed towards the ball, who ended up on some branches of a nearby tree...

"S-Sorry!" the other child apologized.

"Now how do we get it down?" the child still frowned.

"Maybe I can help." Sayaka decided to intervene. She got closer to the two kids.

"Missy?" one of them exclaimed in surprise.

"How will you? It's really high..." the other one commented in slight disbelief.

"Don't worry. I can do it." Sayaka replied, with a warm smile. She approached the tree on which the ball ended up and, after checking if there wasn't anyone else who could witness, put her hand on it. As she did so, the branches slightly moved, just enough to make the ball fall back from the tree, Sayaka caught it in her arms before it reached the ground and gave it back to the kids.

"Wow! How did you do it?" one of the children asked in bewilderment. In response, Sayaka smiled and put her index finger in front of her mouth, like a silence sign.

"It's a secret." she said "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Okay." the child nodded happily, receiving the ball from the young lady's hands.

"Thank you, missy!" the other child thanked, as happily as his friend. Sayaka waved happily to the two children and went off on her way, humming merrily.

Kazuki was on his way back home as well, his eyes staring at the sky, his mind lost in the maze of his thoughts, as always.

"That sun… Sayaka and I used to play under such a sun time ago..."

He muttered to himself, reminiscing past times. The image of Sayaka's beaming smile, just as pure and sweet as it was back then, crossed his mind insistently, to the point of taking roots in him.

"Even the moon has seen that smile..."

 _Two children were looking at the night sky in Misaki Park, one dazzling summer night. A woman with red hair and teal eyes was with them. She was the mother of one of the two children._

" _Wow!"_

 _That was the only sound the two speechless children could utter at the sight of the myriad stars above them._

 _Suddenly, some falling stars appeared on the sky, as if little brushes were stroking the infinite blue canvas._

" _Ahhh!" they both exclaimed happily "Shooting stars!"_

" _Why don't you make a wish?" the woman gently told them. They clasped their hands, as if in prayer, and silently made their wish on the shooting stars. They then opened their eyes and enjoyed the marvel while it continued._

 _When the magic ended, the two children looked at each other. The girl had a smile of genuine happiness on her face._

" _It was great!" she said, merrily._

" _Yeah, it was!" the boy replied, smiling back "I'm looking forward to the next one."_

" _And I want to be there to see it with you, when it will come!" the girl earnestly stated. The boy was impressed by those words, then his smile returned._

" _Well then, let's go back home..." the woman told the two children "Kazuki-kun's grandfather is waiting for us."_

 _The two children got up with a whimper of disappointment and went away with the woman, watched over by the gentle light of the moon..._

These thoughts were running in Kazuki's mind as he was walking.

" _We used to spend so much time like that since we were put in the same class in elementary school..._ "


	12. Desperate Decision

Chapter 12: Desperate Decision

Shun Akemi was at work, in the shopping district café, polishing used tables, when his cellphone suddenly began to ring. He took it from his pocket and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Akemi Shun, please come to the Misaki Hospital as soon as possible" a voice from the phone replied. To those words, Shun froze in place, fear swiftly making its way on his face.

"I'm coming!" he said, hanging up. He then moved towards the exit. He was stopped by a senior.

"Hey! You're not d..." he stopped talking as he saw Shun's worried expression.

"Excuse me, sir..." he said as he got past him and got out of the café through the door.

"Something's wrong..." The senior quickly understood what was going on, albeit only to some degree…

Shun hurried to the hospital, arriving in a short amount of time. A doctor was waiting for him at the entrance. He entered, signaling the former to policeman to follow him. They went to the room where Chouko Torikawa was kept. As they walked, fearful anticipation grew in Shun.

Once the former policeman and the doctor arrived, the sight that unfolded before him left him speechless.

The little girl was in a coma.

"Torikawa Chouko's disease has worsened." the doctor explained.

Shun slowly got closer to the motionless little girl, lying in the hospital bed. She was linked to a machine constantly checking her vitals. Shun took her hand in both his hands, lowering his head in sorrow…

"Chouko..." he whispered.

"We don't know how this happened..." the doctor explained. "We checked her up when she came back to the hospital yesterday, and we didn't find any sign of worsening..."

Shun stood silent, clutching Chouko's hand.

"If we don't operate her quickly, her survival might be compromised..." the doctor explained. "However, I'm afraid the costs of the operation might be quite prohibitive..." At those words, the former policeman slightly rose his head. He looked back to the doctor.

"You'll have to try arranging a solution. In the meantime, we'll try our best to save her." the doctor assured. Shun's expression was still a grim one, however he simply nodded as a reply. He got out of the hospital without saying a word.

He was walking, anger and sadness welling up inside him. He kept thinking about the doctor's words. " _Her survival might be compromised."_

The image of his dead girlfriend was etched in his mind. He couldn't let her sister, that dear girl, share her fate…

" _If she dies as well, I don't know what I'd do..._ "

His sorrow reached the peak. He punched a nearby wall in sadness and frustration. He didn't want her to die. He would have done anything to save her… Anything…

" _Damn it all..._ " he thought as he picked up his phone. " _I have no choice..._ "

He called Goro Ryoki. The businessman proposed to make a deal with him the night before. He had declined his offer, but, since Chouko's life was at risk, he felt he had to accept it, despite how much he hated even to think about it. Eventually, the man answered the call.

"Good morning, Shun. I knew you would have thought about it." He was expecting his call.

"Just shut up and tell me what do you want." he replied, in a rough manner.

"You tell me what do you want me to give you, first." the businessman replied. The policeman's answer was immediate.

"The million yen."

With that, he could pay to save Chouko's life.

"Good, now here's what I want you to do. Straight to business, just as you like it." Goro explained. "In the center of a plain situated in front of the residential area of Misaki, there's an abandoned compound. Some street thugs will trade something very valuable, which I want. I must admit that I do not know what interest those thugs have in said object, but it doesn't seem to matter. You will take the object from them and give it to me. It shouldn't be a problem for you, since you used to eat men like those for breakfast, shall we say?"

Shun couldn't help but doubt the businessman's odd conduct. He couldn't help but wonder why he made such a deal.

"Why should I trust you?" he voiced his doubts.

"Because, Shun, if you want that million yen for whatever reason, to work with me is the only option you have to gain them." Goro's answer was ready. Those words were only stating the obvious, making the man who pronounced them look even more suspicious. However, he wasn't done yet.

"Besides." he added "What could I possibly gain from betraying you? I'd like you to think about it." Shun stood silent for a couple of moments.

"Nothing" Goro continued on "You don't have anything that I deem worth killing or betraying for, therefore I have no reason to manipulate you. If I can convince you to work with me, on the other hand, there are many conspicuous advantages I could gain with the aid of a skilled former policeman. And, of course, you'd have a lot to gain as well."

To Shun, those words seemed to ring true. To an acceptable degree, at least.

"Of course, the deal is off if you break it or fail to do what I'm asking for, the latter being very unlikely, for known reasons." Goro concluded. "The thugs' meeting will be at 21:30 PM. Operate as you see fit. When you have acquired the object, message me and head to the Misaki Hospital. I will meet you there, since it's the closest building in sight."

"Understood." Shun replied.

"Good luck, Akemi Shun." the businessman hung up. After the call, Shun decided to head home.

When he arrived, he went straight in his room. On his desk was a cornered photography. There were Akane, Chouko and himself in it. It was a picture that represented blissful past days… Shun took it and stared at it, with tears welling up in his eyes…

" _Akane…_ _Chouko..._ "

Then he put it back on the desk and picked up something from his drawer… It was his old baton. He had kept it for self defense even after leaving the police. Shun most definitely needed it in order to accomplish what Goro had asked him to…

He would have done anything, if it could save her life… His beloved's last wish was carved in his heart…

" _Aokage-kun… Chouko-chan… Cherish them… With all you've got..."_


	13. Visit

Chapter 13: Visit

After school, Sayaka Inoue met her parents at her house and, as agreed earlier, the family went off to visit Akiha. Eventually, they arrived at the Tohno Mansion. Once they were in front of the entrance gate, Haruki rang the bell. Akiha opened the door of the mansion and revealed herself.

"Oh, Haruki-san! Hisui! I wasn't expecting you to come..." she said, with a calm smile.

"Good afternoon, Akiha-sama!" Hisui said, with a slight bow, while her husband just smiled back.

"Good afternoon, Akiha-san!" her daughter followed.

"You've brought your daughter, I see..." Akiha mused, She then turned to someone who couldn't be seen by the ones standing behind the gate, but whose name they knew.

"Kohaku. We have visitors. Please, open the entrance gate." she said. Hearing that name, both Sayaka and Hisui's faces lit up with smiles. Sayaka's smile, in particular, was beaming.

A few seconds passed, then the entrance gate opened.

"Come on in." Akiha said, with a calm smile, signaling the family to enter the mansion, and so they did. As soon as they stepped in the building, they saw Kohaku.

"Onee-chan!" Hisui exclaimed in joy as she saw her sister.

"Auntie Kohaku!" her daughter followed. As she heard them, a beaming smile lit her face up.

"Ane! Sayaka-chan!" she joyfully replied as her sister and her niece approached her. She hugged them both. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Onee-chan… Onee-chan..." Hisui looked like she was on the verge of tears from joy.

"How are you, auntie?" Sayaka asked as she and her mother were released from Kohaku's embrace.

"I'm fine, thanks." she replied "And what about you, sweetheart? How is school going?" She patted her niece on the head.

"I'm fine, thank you!" the girl answered "As for school, that's going well, too!"

"You're growing to be a fine young lady." Akiha remarked "I'm pleased to see that, Sayaka."

"Oh, thank you, Akiha-san!" the girl replied with a small respectful bow.

The heiress' eyes moved to Hisui "I'm glad to see that you're living happily with Haruki-san, Hisui. Your hopes were not in vain."

"M-many thanks, Akiha-sama!" the red-haired woman bowed as well. Her sister looked at her with almost glazed eyes, filled with pride.

The family stayed there, chatting a bit with Akiha and Kohaku, experiencing the simple joy of being together.

"So, Sayaka-chan..." Kohaku asked her niece, with a smirk on her face "What do you tell me about boys?" Her question made the girl blush. It also made her father uneasy.

"Kohaku-san, isn't it a little too soon to talk about that?" he asked, nervously.

"Umm..." Sayaka attempted an answer "There's still nothing noteworthy going on..."

"It's such a shame, for such a beautiful girl like you..." the woman replied, not losing her cheerful mood. "You seriously should get yourself a boy! And a good one at that!" her remarks made her blush all the more intense and made her father feel all the more uneasy. It was then that her sister intervened.

"Onee-chan, please. Such things need their time…"

"Ehehe..." she chuckled, in response "Sorry, I couldn't help it. You can't deny I'm telling the truth, though!"

"I agree." Akiha added. In front of their remarks, Haruki couldn't help but gulp.

"And how is your life going now, Onee-chan?" Hisui asked. After all, one of the reasons behind her visit was her concern about her sister…

"Don't worry about me, Ane." Kohaku reassured "So far, so good." Her smile seemed sincere enough to put her sister's doubts at ease.

"Thank goodness..." she breathed, peacefully. Some concern still was in her, but she was still relieved that her beloved sister's life was going overall well, despite still being under Akiha's yoke.

After the chat, the family decided to take their leave.

"Ah, Sayaka." the heiress called the girl before she exited the door.

"Yes, Akiha-san?"

"Please send my love to Aokage-kun and Kuro, should you ever see them." she requested. She nodded in response, with a slight sadness behind her smile.

" _Kazuki-kun..._ " she thought. Next time she would have met him, she would have most definitely said him hello on her behalf, but, most importantly, she knew she had to make sure that her voice could reach him.

With those thoughts, she left the Tohno Mansion with her family, waving goodbye to both Akiha and Kohaku, who saw them off with smiles.

Then, the heiress and her servant went back into the mansion.

"Akiha-sama..." Kohaku said "You seem quite concerned about Aokage-kun… To my eyes, at least."

"Your eyes don't deceive you." Akiha replied, with a serious expression. "He might not seem like it, but he is a very fragile boy..." Kohaku looked at her with wide eyes. It was hard to believe that her mistress had become so considerate of others, since then…

When Hisui decided to get out of the Mansion and make her own life outside of it, Akiha had shown no objection. It made Kohaku very happy to see that her beloved sister was allowed to live in the outside world and choose her own path, but still, she couldn't help but wonder why she had allowed that.

"Kohaku." Akiha remarked "You haven't asked your niece anything about Aokage-kun. Your sister had told you about how close they are, right?"

"Oh?" Her mistress' question knocked Kohaku out of her thoughts "Yes, she did tell me, Akiha-sama."

"You see, Kohaku..." Akiha said, with a grave expression "Yesterday I had come across a case of possession, and the young man helped me solve it…" She slightly hung her head, moving her gaze downwards. "We shared some words, which reminded me of how much he tends to make a fatal mistake: trying to keep himself away away others..." Kohaku listened carefully.

"Away from others…?" Kohaku stood in reflection for some time, her eyes lowering in thought before wandering back to her mistress. The heiress observed her servant's facial movements and was quick to read her thoughts.

"It seems you're thinking the same thing I am." she commented, with a faint smile. Kohaku was caught by surprise by her words. She wasn't supposed to be in such confidence with her mistress, given what she and her family had done to her…

But, she couldn't deny that many things had changed… They had begun changing about 17 years prior…

"Kohaku." Akiha said. "Would you mind terribly helping me out with dinner, later on?"

"N-Not at all, Akiha-sama." her servant replied. "What will you do now?"

"I will have a bath. Would you care to join me?" she asked cordially.

Kohaku nodded in response. Traces of slight disbelief could still be seen in her eyes, but her mistress ignored them.

"Wait right there. I'll ready the bath." Akiha said, before heading to the bathroom. While she made the preparations, her servant's thoughts wandered back to the day in which she could see her beloved sister escape from the clutches of the Tohno Family.

 _Akiha had called her servant Hisui in the hall. She had been acting strange, recently, and Akiha had decided to talk about the reasons of her unusual behavior. Unbeknownst to her, her sister Kohaku was in a nearby corridor, concealed by the shadows, silently listening to their conversation._

" _Hisui." she began, with a serious expression on her face "What is the meaning of this? Lately, you've been out of the mansion for a lot of time, leaving your duties unattended more than once. What has gotten in your mind?" The young woman was listening at her mistress, with a stoic expression that hardly betrayed any emotion, but Akiha could swear that she could see a glint of fury in her teal eyes._

" _Also..." she continued on "Lately, you've been acting strange around me… Is something bothering you? Does it have to do with that man, by any chance?" Her words spurred no immediate sensible reaction, but the heiress knew something was wrong._

" _Inoue Haruki. That's his name, right?"_

 _At those words, the emotions in Hisui's eyes seemed to grow more fierce, just as Akiha predicted. Out of curiosity, she made another question._

 _"Shall I take he has already… Touched you?"_

 _Those words, along with the tone in which they were pronounced by the heiress, proved to be unsettling for her servant. She started to tremble. It was slight, but Akiha could notice it. In the corridor, her sister's hands clenched in fists, in rage._

" _What are you intending to do, Akiha-sama?" she said, her emotion was betrayed by the slight waver of her voice. To that, her mistress reacted with a calm smile._

" _Nothing, Hisui." she replied "Absolutely nothing. I demand an explanation from you. Nothing more." She kept looking at her, urging her to continue speaking. Hisui looked down, her emotion starting to break through._

" _You're cruel, Akiha-sama..." she said, meekly._

" _Excuse me?" she inquired, as calmly as ever. Her voice hardly contained any sign of resentment._

" _Why do you wish to keep me here?" she continued on._

" _I don't recall ever saying such a thing." Akiha replied, calmly. "Besides, I'm the one asking questions here, and my question for you is: what has sparked in you the wish of leaving? Is it just because of Haruki, or there's something else I don't know about?"_

 _Hisui's hands, lying on her lap, gripped each other tightly._

" _I… I can't stay here for all of my life..." she explained, in a low voice. "I've felt the wish to know how was the world outside of the mansion since a long time ago. At that time, I did use to think that the mansion was an immense world of itself, but curiosity never ceased to come biting at me, from time to time. The question in my mind was: Were there worlds other than this? Was there something else lying outside of that gate?"_

" _Please, do continue." Akiha spurred her servant to go on with her explanation._

" _Back when I was little..." she continued. "I used to play with Shiki-sama, as I'm sure you remember. Whenever I was near him, whenever I played with him, I felt that he wasn't really from that environment… It was like…" she paused for a moment, in reminiscence, then continued. "It was like he carried echoes from a different world, beyond everything I knew. I could almost smell on him the scent of that world… Sometimes, we ended up gazing at that gate together, from a distance, wondering what was lying beyond it… He also tried to make you open up to the world, when you were the most enclosed among us, Akiha-sama..."_

 _Hearing those words, Akiha's eyes moved downwards and her lip slightly quivered as memories struck her. Hisui was startled by her mistress' reaction. However, she managed to recompose herself fast enough._

" _It's nothing, Hisui..." she reassured "Don't mind it, just go on." Hisui obliged, moving her eyes downwards as an expression of melancholy found its way on her features._

" _I did let go of my dreams and drop my childhood fantasies, accepting to live here as a maid for the sake of Onee-chan..." Akiha found herself nodding. She didn't like the subject that was being touched in that instant, but no noticeable sign of it was to be seen on her. She was keeping her emotions in check._

" _And then?" she spurred her servant to keep talking. Hisui, instead, found herself lingering on that memory… The dreadful moment when she learnt of her sister's torment at the hands of Makihisa Tohno…_

" _Back then..." Hisui kept lingering. Her insistence risked to hinder her mistress' composure, so she called her attention._

" _I believe I told you to continue!" she tartly said. "Please, refrain from unnecessary reminiscence. We both know what happened back then, you may skip to our main focus." Hisui obliged._

" _You never knew, and neither did I, but those fantasies and those dreams from my childhood never truly faded. In fact, Haruki awakened them once again..."_

" _He disclosed his knowledge of the outside world to you, correct?" Akiha asked. "I wouldn't expect nothing less from an avid reader such as him..."_

" _Yes…" Hisui slightly hung her head and a blush made its way on her face as she replied "That's it..."_

" _Hisui, I won't ask you anything about your relationship with Inoue Haruki." the heiress calmly said as she rose from her chair and walked to the window, gazing at the mansion's gardens. In fact, her servant's suitor had visited the mansion many times before that conversation and Akiha had taken her time in analyzing the man._

" _Instead, what I will ask you is: do you have faith that you will find happiness after you step out of this mansion?"_

 _Hisui slightly lowered her eyes and put her hands on her lap, before rising her gaze back to her mistress. Her mind was made up. Finally, she gave her reply._

" _Maybe, if I had never met Haruki, it would never have come to this point..." she said "But now, I can clearly see a future for myself, and I have no intention of forsaking it. I want to give such a future to my sister as well..." Kohaku felt conflicted in hearing those words, the emotion threatening of being shown by her amber eyes in the form of tears. Akiha smiled a smile of melancholy while gazing at the gardens through the window._

" _I'm glad you could talk to me like that, Hisui." she said, turning to her former servant. "If you really wish to build a life for yourself, I won't stop you. In fact, I encourage you to talk with your sister about it and bring her with you, if you can..."_

 _Hisui's teal eyes widened in stupor and disbelief, and so did Kohaku's amber eyes, concealed by the shadows and the walls of the mansion. The heiress simply nodded, making it clear that she meant the words she had spoken. While Kohaku began walking away, her eyes still wide open, Hisui slowly got up from the chair she was sit on, a beautiful smile slowly blooming on her face like it never did for so many years. She bowed respectfully to her former mistress and began walking to her quarters, her pace gradually increasing._

 _Akiha's eyes went back to the gardens, a forlorn expression on her face. Kohaku, who had walked in one of the other rooms of the mansion, still had an expression of bewilderment and astonishment on her face because of what she had heard, yet she could feel sadness welling up in her._

"Kohaku!" Akiha's voice called from the bathroom, pulling the amber-eyed woman from her thoughts "Come, the water's ready."

"I'm coming!" she readily replied, heading to the bathroom. A smile made its way on her lips at the thought of how fate had been kind with her beloved sister, in the end.


	14. Contract

Chapter 14: Contract

Eventually, the Inoue family returned home after their visit to the Tohno mansion. The peaceful moments the three of them had there were enough to calm Hisui's fears, even though some uncertainty still was in her. Haruki noticed her doubts and pulled her closer, encircling her waist, in an attempt to make her feel better. Hisui smiled in response and leaned her head on his shoulder. There was no need for words. Their daughter couldn't help but smile while seeing them, a light blush adorning her cheeks.

Sayaka went to the bathroom to have a bath. After that, she was planning to visit her childhood friend, as usual. However, many thoughts were swimming through her mind as she was soaked in warm water.

" _Kazuki-kun..._ " she thought " _What's on your mind, I wonder..._ " The advice Chiyoko had given her crossed her mind, but she needed a way, an excuse to spend time together with him. Once she had freshened up, she decided to talk with her mother about it.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" she shyly asked. Hisui turned to her daughter with a warm smile.

"Sure, honey! You can ask me anything." she replied.

"If I wanted to close the distance between me and someone else, which would be the best way?" Sayaka asked earnestly, her eyes cast downwards. Her mother couldn't help but smile, quickly understanding who was the someone the girl was talking about.

"It's about Aokage-kun, isn't it?" she asked, making her daughter blush.

"Y-yes..." she timidly confirmed. Hisui gently ran her fingers through her daughter's long red hair.

"Darling, at times people need to be with themselves." she explained, in a warm tone "It's completely normal for you two to lose contact."

"Yes, but..." Sayaka replied, gently holding the hand brushing her hair "I don't want to lose him… What should I do?"

"Just be patient." her mother said, with a warm smile. "Don't put pressure on him. Trust me, in time you'll be able to spend time with him like you used to, and it'll be like there had never been such a distance in the first place." The girl stood silent for a moment, taking in her mother's words, then she finally nodded, with a smile of her own.

"Speaking of which." Hisui continued "Why not invite him to next week's origami festival?"

"Oh, I already did!" Sayaka cheerfully replied.

"Good, and what did he say?" her mother asked. She couldn't help but smile and blush while thinking of Kazuki's reply.

"He… He said yes." she timidly answered.

"That's great!" Hisui smiled warmly, lovingly patting her daughter's head "I couldn't think of a better chance!" Mother and daughter laughed in joy, thinking that Kazuki might not have been so distant after all…

Meanwhile, the gray-haired youth was strolling in the streets of Misaki. He was still unsettled by that strange dream he had. Eventually, his steps led him in front of the café. Once again, the bartender noticed him passing by, but his expression wasn't exactly the most reassuring.

"Hey!" he called, making the youth turn towards him. "Have you heard from Shun?"

"No..." he replied while he felt dreadful anticipation well up inside him "Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"This morning he had received a call and next thing we knew, he rushed out of here. Must have been something bad..." Kazuki's eyes widened in shock.

"I'll try to call him." he said as he fished his phone out of his pocket and quickly dialed his friend's number. After a couple of rings, an automated voice message system replied.

"We're sorry, the customer you are calling is not available at the moment. Please, leave a message after the tone." Kazuki had no choice but to leave a voice message.

"Shun, it's me, Kazuki." he said "I've heard you've received a bad call while you were working... I'm just hoping for the best for you and Chouko-chan..." Unable to think of other words to say, he closed the message.

"Chouko-chan?" the bartender couldn't help but ask.

"It's his girlfriend's sister." Kazuki quickly explained "She's been in hospital for 2 months now..."

"So you're telling me she's gotten worse?" the man asked, sharing the youth's worries.

"Most likely." the gray-haired youth nodded.

"I see..." the bartender mused, concern written all over his face "No wonder he was in such a hurry..."

"I just hope everything works out in the end..." Kazuki murmured…

"Yeah... I do, too..." the bartender replied.

After talking with the bartender, Kazuki went on his way and his steps led him to Misaki Park. He found a bench and sat on it, rising his gaze to the sky, tinged with the red light of sunset. The sun was already low and it was beginning to get dark. The youth's mind was riddled with countless thoughts.

" _Not only that strange dream..._ " he thought " _Now Chouko-chan, too… What's going on?_ " He was deeply concerned for the little girl's well being, especially knowing how important she was for his friend. He couldn't help but wonder if his dream was somehow linked to this dreadful occurrence.

" _Chouko-chan… Shun… Torikawa-san..._ " The image of all the people he had called friends, dead and alive, crossed his mind one after another. His biggest fear was that they would have been soon involved in a terrible and dangerous spiral of events which was bound to be unleashed.

" _But what is about to happen?_ " he kept thinking " _Will I be able to face it?_ "

He failed to notice an eerie silence stilling the park, he failed to notice that there were only two people in it: himself, and a stranger wearing a cape.

"Aokage Kazuki." His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the voice of the stranger calling his name. In hearing it, the gray-haired youth jolted up on his feet and looked at him. His cape had some crosses depicted on it, showing that the man was a member of the Church.

"At last I've found you." he said, before taking his battle stance "Prepare yourself." Kazuki couldn't help but tense up in front of a man who knew him, but whom he didn't know.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, as he prepared himself to fight as well "What business do you have with me?"

"All in due time." That was his only answer as he rushed towards the youth and tried to land a punch, which was quickly parried by Kazuki's arm. And so a melee battle between the gray-eyed youth and the mysterious stranger from the Church started. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Kazuki made sure that none of the man's strikes touched him, and managed to land a kick on his chest which made him step backwards.

The stranger jumped on a tree and leaped up high as the blue and golden gleam began to shine in Kazuki's eyes. Black swords appeared from the man's sleeves, flying in his hands, only to be thrown at the magus and pierce him. The youth fell, but his body disappeared before it touched the ground, which was instead pierced by the black swords. The stranger quickly understood it was an illusion, and quickly weaved his arms while turning behind him and finding Kazuki, who was about to swing his katana against him. Another black blade appeared from his sleeve and he quickly parried the strike with it, before jumping back.

"Well done." he murmured. The gray-haired youth could swear he had seen a faint smile on his features, before he extended his arm to the side.

" _What is he up to?_ " Kazuki couldn't help but wonder.

Yellow light shone in the stranger's sleeve, and a silver halberd materialized from it. He skillfully twirled it in his hands, before charging towards the youth once again. Kazuki quickly sheathed his katana and a Naginata spear of blue light appeared in his hand. The stranger tried to land a hit on him with the halberd, but the magus managed to defend himself from his assault. He then jumped back and vanished again. The man stood in high alert, and was quick to sense his opponent trying to come at him from his side. After his strike was parried by the silver halberd, Kazuki suddenly felt an unknown force pulling him.

"What?" he exclaimed as he was dragged away from the man. Waiting for him was a strong man wearing a golden spartan armor, who punched him away, making him land at quite a distance from them in the park.

"What the…?" Kazuki murmured as he got back up, not without pain, and then he saw the man who had hit him. He noticed he had a spear in his hand as well.

" _Is that man another Master?_ " the youth couldn't help but think, but there wasn't too much time to think. Kazuki quickly materialized two Naginata spears in his hands and charged towards the two attackers. He managed to fend off their attacks with the two spears, and then he turned while twirling them in his hands, hoping to land a slash on either of the mysterious attackers, but it didn't happen. Instead, the armored man kicked him in the back, The stranger then tried punching him, but the youth was able to defend himself with one of the lances.

Both the attackers came at him with their spears, but he managed to defend himself from all of their strikes, the sound of metal clashing against metal filled the ears of both the attackers. However, the blade of the silver halberd cut one of Kazuki's two Naginata spears in two pieces. The construct of blue light immediately disappeared from his hand, but the magus continued to fight, his remaining spear clashing with the halberd.

Once he thought he was open, Kazuki swung a fist shining of blue light at the stranger, who managed to avoid it. He then jumped away from him just in time before his caped opponent could hit him with a kick. Both the caped man and the armored man charged at the young magus with their lances, but he blocked them with his spear as another blade appeared on its other end. He fended off their attacks and managed to land a slight slash on the stranger's flank. Seeing an opening, the caped man rose his halberd and tried to strike down Kazuki, who was able to swiftly block the attack. Then, he felt that force again.

He was dragged towards the armored man, who grabbed his arm and threw him against a nearby tree, and then he punched him in the face and kicked his hip, making him roll away from the tree. Another black blade appeared from the stranger's sleeve and he threw it at Kazuki's shadow, clearly visible on the green grass. Once it pierced the ground, the youth found he was unable to stand back up. He tried in vain to get back on his feet as the stranger approached him with his silver halberd.

"I know you can do better than this." the stranger sternly said, looking at him. "Don't you have a wish? Don't you have something to protect?" Kazuki could only look back at him, panting from fatigue, and move his hand to the handle of his katana. Many emotions sprung and flowed within him as he lied there, his hand on his katana, but the one that stood out the most was fear. Fear of an unfulfilled death.

" _I can't die here..._ " he thought.

The stranger's words have reached him, because he had wishes. He had something to protect. His mind traced his past experience. He thought about his friends, the people he wanted to see again, the people he wanted to live for, and lastly, he remembered a promise he had made to the man who had brought him up, shaping him as who he was.

" _Protect your humanity._ "

"If you do, then fight for it!" the man finally said, rising his halberd, ready to swing it down on the youth. Unable to do anything else, he unsheathed his katana to protect himself from the incoming strike, and the blade began shining of an intense white light, blinding the one wielding it as well as the two attackers.

Once the light had subsided, the three fighters opened their eyes and what Kazuki saw left him almost speechless.

In front of him was a tall man, dressed in an elegant kimono, armed with a katana and a smaller blade. The man's back was facing him, and his katana was pointed at the attacker's neck. On the caped man's face a smile appeared.

"Yes." he murmured, before swiftly jumping away from the mysterious man and thrusting his halberd in the ground. The armored man, on the other hand, charged against him, but the man was able to dodge all of his attacks, at times deflecting the lance with his shorter blade. He then turned around, swinging both of his blades against him, but the armored warrior managed to block his blow with the lance.

"Enough, Lancer." the caped man ordered, tugging down his sleeve in one swift motion and revealing a symbol carved on his right arm, the seal of the Master. "Stop fighting now." The symbol shone brilliantly as the warrior obeyed, jumping by the man's side. Then, a part of the symbol vanished from the man's arm as he extended it towards the halberd, making it vanish, then towards the black blade, which flew back in the man's sleeve.

"Stand up." he then said. Kazuki was now free to get back up on his feet, and he managed to do so, despite the pain caused from the warrior's powerful attacks, but the stranger's actions perplexed him.

"W-Why…?" he asked "Why did you do that?"

"Kazuki." the caped man replied "The sole purpose of this fight was to make you summon your Servant." The statement made Kazuki look at the man dressed in the kimono with wide eyes, unable to utter a word. He tried to make a step forward, despite the pain, but the man quickly turned to him and stopped him.

"Don't move." he said, putting his arms on the youth's shoulders. He had short, untidy brown hair and brown eyes, and a short beard adorned the lower part of his face.

"To take part in this fight is the only way to understand the meaning behind it." the caped man continued "Surely you know how this is too unusual of an occurrence." Kazuki's eyes widened again.

" _He's right._ " he thought " _This isn't supposed to happen… The Holy Grail War was..._ "

"You have no choice but to fight, this is your duty as a magus of this city." the caped man said, leaving the young magus even more puzzled. "Aokage Kazuki, I have faith in you. Prepare yourself accordingly, because we'll face each other again, and many more fights will come..." He then turned his back on the stupefied youth and began walking away, along with his Servant.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Kazuki asked, not understanding the reason behind his sparing and his words.

"All in due time." the man replied, not turning his head to him.

"Can I at least know your name?" the young magus asked, making the caped man turn his head to him.

"My name is Haneyama Kiyoshi." he said, before leaving the park with his Servant. Kazuki tried to make a step forward, but the man dressed in the kimono stopped him.

"Wait." he held him in place, as if to prevent him from falling. "Calm your breathing." Kazuki's quick breathing slowly slowed down, just as the man said.

"Relax." the man held him as the youth slowly closed his eyes. "And focus." A faint blue light could be seen in Kazuki's sleeve. After a rather short amount of time, Kazuki's eyes flashed open as he made a step forward before regaining his balance.

"Thank you..." he said, turning back to the man who had protected him. "So you're my Servant..."

"Yes." the man nodded, opening his hand in front of his Master "From now on, my blade will be your blade, and your fate will be my fate." The image of a card appeared on the man's hand. On it was depicted a man in a medieval armor, wielding a rapier. Under the image a word was written. "Saber".

"Saber..." Kazuki repeated, before tugging down his sleeve to look at his arm. Sure enough, a symbol was embedded on his arm, as well.

"Great." the youth murmured in a gloomy tone "Just what I needed..."

"Kazuki..." Saber said, putting his hands on his Master's shoulders and making him look at him "You have no choice but to fight now. There must be a reason behind these events, behind your call..." Kazuki simply stood silent, listening to him.

"I'm sure many questions are crowding your mind in this moment." Saber continued "I don't have the answers, but I will aid you in finding them. You can count on me." Kazuki took in his Servant's words, and then he nodded in approval.

"Thank you." he said, when someone else entered the park.

"Freeze!" a male voice said, in a stern tone, making the two turn to its source. It was a man with short dark brown hair and brown eyes, wearing glasses. Kazuki immediately recognized him

"Detective Takagi Kuro, Police Department of Misaki." the man said, showing a police badge and walking closer to them "The two of you must come with me to the police station to answer some questions."

"Yes, sir." Kazuki immediately replied, making Saber look at him. The youth looked back at his Servant, expecting him to repeat what he had said, and so Saber finally obeyed. "Yes, sir." The detective was right in front of the two of them.

"Good afternoon, Kazuki." he said, in a calmer tone. Kazuki couldn't help but give a melancholic smile.

"Good afternoon, Takagi-san." he replied "I honestly hoped to meet you again in better circumstances..."

"Me too, Kazuki." Kuro said, with a sad smile of his own, before his expression turned serious again. "Listen, after the Berserker murder string, we're fearing that another dangerous occurrence of the kind might happen very soon, and we'll need to do anything in our power to prevent it." He then glanced at Saber before turning back to the young magus.

"You might have some answers that will be able to help us, especially since it appears you've just gotten involved in something significant..." he continued. "So you'll have to tell us what you know. Of course, the information you will give us will be strictly confidential." Kazuki nodded, showing that he was willing to cooperate with the detective.

"Please, come with me." Kuro said, as he began to walk in the direction of the police station. Kazuki and Saber followed him.


	15. Questioning

Chapter 15: Questioning.

"Excuse me, Takagi-san." Kazuki asked while he and Saber were following the detective, making his head turn. "Can I use my phone to send a message?"

"Sure." the man replied, stopping in his tracks. The magus and his Servant stopped as well, as the former fished his phone out of his pocket and began typing.

"Hello Sayaka. I'm writing to let you know that I might be home a little late, so don't worry. See you later!" he typed. As he finished, he noticed that the detective was glancing at the screen, and thus Saber was slightly glaring at him.

"U-Um..." he uncertainly uttered, making him notice the swordsman's glare as well and quickly stop looking.

"Sorry, Kazuki. Professional deformation." he quickly said "I have to make sure criminals don't type anything suspicious...". Kazuki sighed.

"Right, I understand." he replied, in a much calmer voice, as they resumed walking.

"What did you write?" Saber asked his Master.

"I wrote to my friend." Kazuki replied, in a quieter tone "I told her I might be home later than usual."

"Now you're making it look suspicious, Kazuki." Kuro commented "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Oh, sorry!" Kazuki quickly replied, with a slight bow.

"You don't need to apologize." Kuro replied, with a slight smile.

During the walk, the atmosphere had been quite warm, but that ended once they arrived at the police station.

Once they entered the building, they had to leave their weapons by the entrance. the detective guided them to an office where his superior, a man with a stern look, was waiting for them.

"Aokage Kazuki." the man began as the magus and the swordsman took a seat in front of him "Detective Takagi has told me quite a bit about you." Hearing that statement, Kazuki turned to Takagi, who was standing by his side, with a confused stare, since the detective knew information about Magecraft was to be kept secret. The police superior, with a guttural sound, recalled the gray-haired youth's attention before he could ask any questions.

"It wasn't easy for him to tell me." he continued, in a severe tone. "But I urged him to do so, because we can't allow any more atrocities like the Berserker Murder String happen again." Kazuki's head slightly hung at the mention of the events of 6 months before. "You know Magecraft more than anyone else as far as we know, so, if we are to protect the citizens of Misaki from more catastrophes related to Magecraft, we'll need your help."

"Understood, sir." Kazuki earnestly replied. Despite the secrecy under which the magic world was to be kept, he agreed with the policeman about the danger Misaki could have faced anytime soon.

"I'm grateful for your willingness to collaborate, but I have to ask..." the man said, glancing at Saber "Who's the man accompanying you?" At that point Kuro moved towards him and, once he had reached him, whispered some information in his ear. The man nodded as the detective walked back by Kazuki's side.

"Is that man your Servant?" he asked, to which the youth slightly nodded.

"When did you summon him?" the man quickly asked.

"Right before Takagi-san had asked me to come here." Kazuki replied.

"Can you tell me the details?"

"I had been attacked by a person I didn't know. A man wearing a priestly black cape, armed with an halberd. He had a Servant as well, a Lancer-class… I was about to defend myself with my katana when it began shining, and then he appeared, and the stranger left..."

"What?" Kuro couldn't help but ask "But why did he do that?"

"He had said that the purpose of his attack was to make me summon my Servant..." the youth thoughtfully murmured.

"Since we're at it, tell me more about Servants." the man urged Kazuki to speak "How can one summon them?"

"Of course, only magi can summon them." Kazuki began explaining "They're summoned either through a ritual, or when the magic circuit of a magus touches an object related to a determined historical figure or myth. Servants, in fact, are spirits of legendary historical or mythical figures."

"Yes, I've been informed about that. Anything else?" the man questioned.

"There's a maximum of 7 Servants which can be summoned, one for each class, which means that there can be a maximum of 7 Masters."

"I see..." the man mused, his fingers on his chin "We have you and your Servant, Ryoki Hideki is dead and Berserker has disappeared. Also, you mentioned Lancer, a Servant at the service of the man who had attacked you."

"Exactly, sir." Kazuki nodded "The remaining Servants are Archer, Caster, Rider and Assassin, but I don't know if they have been summoned yet..."

"I understand." the man said "Is there something else I need to know?"

"Actually, sir, I think that there's one more thing worth mentioning..." Kazuki murmured.

"Then don't waste time and say it!" the man urged.

"…This war shouldn't even be happening." the youth said. At this revelation, both Kuro and his superior had astonished expressions on their face.

"What?" the latter asked "What do you mean by that?"

"I know that the Holy Grail War had always been fought in Fuyuki City, never in Misaki, with the Fifth War of 17 years ago being the last one." Kazuki replied "Moreover, 7 years ago, the Mage's Association, a guild to which most of the magi are bound, have officially stopped all attempts to access to the Greater Grail, the true purpose of the war. To put it in more simple terms, it has been officially stated that there wouldn't have been any more Holy Grail Wars."

"You've never told this before..." Kuro said, astonishment still sitting upon his features.

"I'm sorry." Kazuki replied "Must have slipped from my mind..."

"But still, it's happening." the man said, in an irritated tone "Servants are being summoned. How can this be?"

"I don't know, sir..." Kazuki replied, casting his gaze downwards.

"Can you perhaps make an hypothesis?" Kuro suggested.

"I can think of one." the youth mused "It's possible that a magus has been trying to access the Greater Grail or has acquired an artifact which might have allowed him to recreate the war for his own purposes..."

"But it's only an hypothesis..." the man said "We'll need a way to confirm it before the situation gets worse..." At those words, Kazuki immediately stood up.

"Please, allow me to investigate." he said, his voice filled with determination. "I'll search for the other Masters and I'll inform you about any major developments.

"Are you sure?" Kuro asked "You're the one who told me the Holy Grail War consists in Masters killing each other."

"True." Kazuki readily replied "But, as I said earlier, this has happened when the official Holy Grail Wars have stopped. I don't want to abide by the rules of something that shouldn't be happening. Hopefully there are Masters who think the same, knowing of the Association's decision. With their help, it won't be hard to track down the source of this phenomenon."

"The reliability of this plan is debatable as best..." the man said "...But it might be the only possible course of action. How do you plan to inform us?"

"I'll contact Takagi-san directly and I'll pass him the information I'll be able to find." the magus replied, before looking at his Servant, who had been silent for the entirety of the questioning until then.

"Whatever is your decision, I'll support you and protect you as your Servant." he said, with a nod.

"It's decided, then." the man said. "I thank you for your cooperation. You may leave now." the man finally said, prompting Kazuki, Saber and Kuro to leave the room. As they collected their weapons at the entrance of the station, the detective put a hand on the youth's shoulder, making him turn his head to him.

"Let me ask you again, Kazuki..." he asked, concern clearly audible in his tone "Are you sure you're ready to do this?" The young magus casted his gaze downwards.

"I didn't want to be involved in this, Takagi-san..." he murmured "No, I hoped this wouldn't had happened at all... But I can't run away now." He then looked at Kuro with determined eyes.

"I don't want any innocent people to pay the consequences of the actions of mages." He continued "And, since it's in your interest to protect the innocents from harm, I will help you. Some people have already lost their lives 6 months ago because of mages, and that's already too much..." he then cast his gaze downwards once more, one of his hands closed in a fist as the thought of the death of Akane Torikawa crossed his mind.

"Kazuki..." the man murmured, quickly understanding his friend's feelings and putting both his hands on the youth's shoulders.

"I'll end this with my hands." the young magus finally said, looking back at him. After some moments of silence, Kuro spoke again.

"I see..." he said "Good luck."

"Thank you, Takagi-san..." Kazuki replied, with a faint smile "I'll need it."

"Just remember you're not the only one involved into this." the detective said "You don't have to fight alone." After the youth nodded at that, a smile appeared on his own face "Besides, you don't need to thank me. There's nothing I wouldn't do for this town and for my friends." It was then that the youth remembered something important.

"Oh, right!" he exclaimed, before turning to his Servant. "Saber, can you trace my position even though you don't know this town?" The swordsman calmly nodded.

"I can follow your magic signature. It wouldn't be hard for me to find you." he replied "Why's that?"

"A friend of mine will be visiting me." Kazuki explained "Since I don't want her to get involved in this, it's best if she doesn't see you for the time being..." He then turned to Kuro. "Takagi-san, can I ask you to bring him to Tohno-san's mansion?" The detective was surprised by the request, but eventually complied.

"Thank you so much!" he said, with a bow "Once my friend will be back home, I'll call Tohno-san on the phone and tell her that Saber can come home."

"Understood." Saber nodded.

"Thank you for understanding." Kazuki smiled "And, Takagi-san, thank you for the help!"

"Don't mention it, Kazuki!" Kuro smiled back.

"Not to mention, you get to see Tohno-san after so much time!" the youth remarked, as his smile turned into a grin. The statement made the detective chuckle.

"Yeah, you're right..." he replied.

"Kazuki, please stay safe on your way home!" Saber warned.

"Don't worry, Saber, I will." his Master reassured him, with a faint smile. "My first priority will be to keep a low profile and not to draw too much attention."

"Sounds like a plan." Kuro said.

"It's decided, then." Kazuki said, fishing out his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Saber asked.

"I'm calling Tohno-san!" he said as he dialed the number and made the call.

"Hello?" After some time, the woman replied.

"Good evening, Tohno-san..." Kazuki said "I called because there are two things I have to tell you..."

"What is it, Aokage-kun?" Akiha asked, as calmly as ever.

"Well, first: I've gotten myself in trouble..." the youth replied, not as calmly "And second: you'll be having guests for the evening." As expected, the heiress was left quite baffled by the magus's statement.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I've gotten involved in a supernatural phenomena." Kazuki replied.

"Demons again?" Akiha inquired.

"No, I'm afraid it's worse. Remember the Berserker Murder String of 6 months ago?" After hearing a sound of approval from the heiress, the young magus continued "It's happening again, and it could even get worse this time."

"Are you taking care of it?" the heiress asked.

"Yes, but I'm not alone." Kazuki said "I have a reliable partner at my side." He could swear he had heard her sighing in relief upon hearing, before she spoke once again.

"Well then, remember you can always come to me if you need any help." she said.

"Thank you, Tohno-san." the magus replied "Actually, there is something I need your help with..."

"Hm? And what would that be?" the heiress asked.

"I'll have to drop this partner of mine at your mansion for a bit." Kazuki explained "I need to keep a low profile, for now at least."

"Are you planning to have him come back?" Akiha asked.

"Exactly." the youth confirmed "I'll call you when he'll have to come back." After some time, the last of the Tohno house agreed with the idea.

"Ok." she said "I'll be waiting. Let me know if anything unusual happens."

"Will do." Kazuki replied "Thank you so much!"

"There's no need to thank me, Aokage-kun." she said "Have a good night."

"Yes, a good night to you as well." he replied, with a nod, before closing the call.

"You didn't tell her about me coming to drop him there." Kuro commented, making the youth turn to him.

"I don't have to tell everything about it, do I, Takagi-san?" he replied, with a slight smirk on his face, before winking. Upon understanding his friend's intentions, the detective let out a heartful laugh, as Kazuki joined him.

"Of all people, I wouldn't expect you to pull off such a stunt, Kazuki." he commented. The magus then turned to Saber.

"Well then, I'll see you later, Saber." Once the Servant had nodded at the statement, the youth turned to the detective.

"Takagi-san..." he asked "Please say hi to Tohno-san for me!"

"Will do, Kazuki." he replied, with a nod "Please, stay safe on your way home."

"I will, thank you." Kazuki said, before he parted ways with Kuro and Saber.

As the magus walked home to greet his childhood friend, his mind was set on the bizarre events of that day, which didn't promise anything good.

" _No matter how hard you try, there will always be a person or two who will get tangled up in your struggle._ " The words Akiha had left him came back at his mind.

" _I just hope to keep them out of harm's way..._ " he thought " _This struggle will definitely be bigger and more dangerous than what I had to face back then…_ "


	16. Calm Night

Chapter 16: Calm Night.

Kuro and Saber were on their way towards the Tohno Mansion, where Akiha was waiting for them. During the walk, the Servant decided to ask the detective about his relationship with his Master.

"Takagi, you seem quite close to Kazuki." The question made Kuro turn his head to him.

"Yes, I am." he replied "Let's just say he had helped me quite a bit in the past." He then thoughtfully cast his gaze downwards.

"Is something bothering you?" Saber asked.

"I can't help but be worried about him." the detective earnestly replied, his concern easily conveyed through his voice "He's a good boy, and sadly, it's people like him who always end up devastated the most from occurrences like this..." All Saber could do was nod in agreement and reassure him.

"This is something no one could possibly withstand by himself, but Kazuki is not by himself. Don't worry, I'll do whatever I can to protect him." Hearing that statement, a faint smile appeared on the detective's features.

"I know you will." he said "And I thank you for that. Know that the both of you can always count on me." the Servant smiled back.

"He's lucky to have a friend like you." he commented.

They didn't know, however, that someone was watching them while were walking. A woman with long red hair and turquoise blue eyes, standing atop of one of the buildings in the street. Her expression was troubled and filled with concern as she watched them. Then, she walked away.

Meanwhile, Kazuki Aokage was already not too far from his house. He had come a little late because of the police superior's questioning, but he had warned his friend beforehand and he knew that she was waiting for him.

"I'm home!" he said as he entered.

"Welcome back, Kazuki-kun!" Sayaka greeted him with her usual cheery voice and her warm smile "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine, thank you." the gray-haired youth replied. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you!" she said, then she asked "Did something happen today?" Kazuki had expected that uncomfortable question and, once again, answered in a way he felt safe enough with.

"Some policemen had stopped me to ask me some questions." Even that simple answer was enough to make worry seep into the girl's teal eyes.

"What?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern "Why did they do that?" Kazuki smiled reassuringly at that.

"Don't worry, they didn't suspect me or anything." he explained "They were just asking me if I knew anything about a case they were investigating." His words managed to calm down Sayaka, as her sigh of relief showed.

"Thank goodness..." she breathed out.

"Sorry to make you worry, Sayaka." the gray-haired youth said.

"It's alright." Sayaka replied, smiling warmly "At least nothing bad had happened to you." Kazuki couldn't help but smile back.

"Ok, let me just freshen up, then I'll join you for dinner." he said, to which the red-haired girl nodded.

Meanwhile, Kuro and Saber had arrived in front of the gates of the Tohno Mansion. Kuro rang the entrance bell, and it wasn't long before Akiha opened the door and saw the two visitors. In particular, she didn't expect to see a certain person behind the gate.

"Kuro?" she murmured, breathlessly. The word of stupor, however, reached Kuro's ears.

"In the flesh." he tenderly smiled. The heiress couldn't help but smile back, a slight blush adorning her features. Then she turned to the man dressed in a kimono.

"I take it you're Aokage-kun's partner..." she said.

"Yes, I am." he replied, nodding at her. Akiha then turned to her door.

"Kohaku, open the gate!" she called "We have guests!" From behind the mansion door, the amber-eyed maid obeyed and the gates opened, letting the detective and the Servant in.

"How have you been managing, Kuro?" Akiha asked, with concern in her voice, as soon as he got closer to her. He couldn't help but smile warmly.

"Did you miss me that much, Akiha?" he tenderly replied, making her blush.

"How could I not?" she replied "Especially knowing your job." At that, the detective hugged her.

"Don't worry." he murmured, caressing her hair "As long as you're with me, I have something to return to."

"Kuro..." she murmured as well, leaning into his embrace. After some time, they separated and entered the mansion, along with Saber.

Meanwhile, Kazuki had washed himself and was ready to join Sayaka for dinner. The two talked while enjoying their food.

"So, how did your meeting with Tohno-san go?" he asked. Sayaka's smile didn't waver, and so his concerns were already quenched before she replied.

"It went well. I told you, Akiha-san and Auntie Kohaku were doing just fine."

"I'm glad to hear that." he replied, almost as if sighing in relief.

"And you?" she asked "How did your day go, police aside?"

"Oh, it went just fine, thanks." he said. Sayaka simply smiled and the two kept eating. After some time, Kazuki spoke up.

"You know, Sayaka..." he said, making his childhood friend look at him "While I was walking back home, I couldn't help but think about the time we shared as kids..."

"Kazuki..." the teal-eyed girl replied, nostalgia clearly audible in her voice "The same had happened to me. While I was walking home, I saw two kids playing in the park, and I couldn't help but think about how much we used to play in that park." A melancholic smile made its way on the gray-haired youth's features.

"Time sure flies, doesn't it?" he murmured.

"Yes…" Sayaka replied. "But we're still here."

"Yes, that's true..." he replied.

" _And I want to keep it that way..._ " he thought.

"Ah, Kazuki-kun!" she asked "Are you taking care of the origami owl I gave you?" At that question, Kazuki smiled.

"Yes, I am." he replied "It's in my room, above my desk." She simply smiled back in response. While the two friends resumed eating, Kazuki looked at the night sky through a window nearby. An almost full moon was shining in the infinite blackness. Sayaka turned her gaze to the night as well.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" she commented.

"It's a dark night, tonight..." he replied, not seeing any stars in the sky. Sayaka turned to him and giggled sweetly.

"Silly boy." she said, her voice cheerfully soothing "It's because we're surrounded by light. Night always looks darker if you see it from a lit place." The youth chuckled at the statement.

"Yeah, that's true." he replied "But it makes you wonder, there are things that can't be seen when you're in the light, but can be seen in darkness..."

"That's what they say..." the teal-eyed girl replied, moving a strand of hair behind her ear. Kazuki then turned to her.

"Say, does your father have a book about constellations, by any chance?" he asked, with a smile on his face.

"Yes, he actually does have one." she said, smiling back "I've gave it a read once. It was soooo big! I had read only a few of the constellations in there." Kazuki chuckled at his friend's statement. At that, Sayaka's cheeks inflated in a pout he couldn't help but find cute, only to melt in a sweet smile shortly after.

"Well, after all, the only limit to things like constellations is our own imagination, which draws them in the starry sky..." she said.

"I couldn't have said it better." the gray-eyed youth replied. Sayaka's eyes turned back to the seemingly empty night sky.

"This world is just full of wonders..." she said, thoughtfully "I wish to get to know the most I can and see as many marvels as I can."

"You're definitely your father's daughter." Kazuki commented, with his faint smile still on his face. They both knew that his father was a proficient researcher and an avid eater of knowledge. It was to be expected for his daughter to share his boundless curiosity.

"Well, of course!" she replied. "Of whose else, if not his?" Her deliberately hilarious answer made both the youths laugh heartily. All the distance Sayaka had felt between her and her old friend seemed to disappear in those precious moments together.

"I'm sure you will grow to be a magnificent woman, Sayaka." Kazuki earnestly said. After all, not only she shared her father's mind, she also possessed a big heart. The compliment tinged the teal-eyed girl's face with a color close to her hair.

"Th-Thank you, Kazuki-kun." she replied, smiling sweetly "I'm sure a great future will be in wait for you, as well." At those words, Kazuki's smile almost wavered.

" _I do?_ " he thought " _I have serious doubts_ _about that_ _..._ " However, he was considerate enough not to betray his concerns and make the girl worry again…

Meanwhile, in the Tohno Mansion, Akiha, Kohaku and their guests were gathered. The heiress had decided to let Kuro and Saber join her and her maid for dinner.

"What is your name, sir?" Akiha asked to the Servant.

"Please call me Saber." he replied.

"Well then, Saber." the heiress continued "What is it that Aokage-kun is facing?"

"Something that could affect the entirety of this town if it isn't stopped as soon as possible." Saber seriously replied.

"I see..." Akiha said, with a nod of understanding. Kuro tensed up a little, knowing how serious the conversation was getting. "Can you tell me more?"

"Well, there are 6 other beings like me." the swordsman explained "Berserker, who had appeared 6 months ago from what I've heard, was one of them." Akiha listened at his explanation. "Kazuki and I will be investigating on the remaining 5. Not everyone of them might be hostile, however."

"I hope so..." the heiress said. "From what you have just claimed, you're not human, are you?"

"No." he replied "I'm a magical being bound to Kazuki." Akiha nodded in understanding, when Kohaku, who was listening with a focused expression until then, decided to intervene.

"Saber-san, I must ask, are you a fan of kimonos, by any chance?" she cheerfully asked "You look like you come from the ancient samurai times!"

"Kohaku!" she was tartly called by her mistress "Be more respectful!"

"There's no need to scold her, Akiha." Kuro objected. "She was just trying to lighten up the mood."

"Yes, I do understand that..." Akiha replied, some concern visible in her eyes.

"Besides, she did bring up a fair point." Saber added "Since it would be best to keep a low profile, I need a less showy attire to move around more easily." The heiress nodded in agreement.

"I can help you pick up some nice clothes, if you wish!" the amber-eyed servant cheerfully suggested, to which Saber nodded in compliance.

"Yes, please."

The dinner went on peacefully, and Saber and Kuro thanked Akiha and Kohaku for the food.

"Your cooking is outstanding, Kohaku-san." the swordsman commented.

"I'm glad you liked it, Saber-san!" Kohaku cheerfully replied "Now, please follow me. I'll help you pick a good attire!" The Servant silently complied and followed her while she went to the room that once belonged to Shiki Tohno. While looking at them, a slight hint of sadness could be seen in her eyes.

"Akiha..." Kuro murmured, quickly understanding the woman's feelings, and sat by her side, gently pulling her in an embrace and making her gasp in surprise. Then, she smiled, leaning in his embrace.

"Sorry, Kuro." she said.

"Don't worry about it." the detective reassured "I understand." Akiha's smile slightly widened.

"You're always this understanding." she commented "That's one thing I have to be grateful to your job for." The statement made the detective chuckle.

"Sometimes, a detective's quirks can be useful outside work, too." he said "That much, I won't deny." They stood there, one in the arms of the other, in blissful silence.

In the meantime, Kohaku showed her mistress's guest a set of casual clothes.

"Look at this, Saber-san!" she cheerfully said "Why don't you try them out! I'm sure you would look great in them!" the Servant shook his head.

"There's no need." he said, then he closed his eyes and a slight light enveloped his clothes, and when it disappeared, he was dressed in those very casual clothes, a white shirt and blue jeans, leaving the red-haired maid speechless.

"W-Wow..." she uttered, breathless from surprise "So, when you said you were a magical guy, you meant it..." Saber merely nodded in response. Kohaku ran her eyes along his new attire, her usual cheerful smile adorning her features.

"I have to say..." she commented "You look dashing in that!"

"Many thanks." Saber replied, with a faint smile of his own, slightly bowing. "So this is something normal to wear..."

"Yes!" the maid confirmed "And even good-looking. Do you feel it's comfortable enough?" The Servant nodded in response.

"No need to worry." he replied "It's just fine." Kohaku nodded at the remark with her signature smile.

Meanwhile, Sayaka was peacefully spending her time with Kazuki, who had seemed much less distant than she feared. Eventually, the time for her to head back home came.

"Thank you for visiting me, Sayaka." the gray-haired youth said. "I always appreciate it!" The teal-eyed girl chuckled.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" she replied "It's always a pleasure for me." The gray-haired youth couldn't help but smile warmly at her remark.

"Have a good weekend, Sayaka." he wished her.

"Thank you, Kazuki-kun." she replied "Good weekend to you! I'll see you soon!" After Kazuki gave her a quick nod, she began to walk away from his house, under his warm gaze, which was concealing thought and concern.

Once his old friend was away from the place, Kazuki took his mobile phone and dialed Akiha Tohno's number., before putting the handheld device close to his ear. After some time, the heiress was disturbed from her reverie with Kuro by the sound of her phone and replied to the call.

"Hello?" she replied.

"Tohno-san, it's me, Kazuki." she heard on the phone.

"Aokage-kun?" the heiress replied, in slight surprise, before rapidly regaining her composure "I take it Saber can safely head to your house now."

"Yes, that's right." the youth confirmed. "Thank you so much for the help!" Akiha smiled faintly.

"Don't mention it." she said "Have a good night, Aokage-kun!" With that, she closed the call. Saber and Kohaku came back from the room, the former quickly understanding that his Master had called.

"Tohno-san." the Servant said "i heard you talking on the phone. I take it Kazuki has called." The heiress replied with a calm nod.

"I understand." Saber said "Many thanks for your hospitality, Tohno-san. I must take my leave, now."

"Do you wish me to accompany you, Saber?" Kuro asked.

"No need to, Takagi." the Servant readily replied. "Right now, you need to be with Tohno-san. I'll be going there on my own." After taking in his words, the detective nodded in agreement. After giving him a faint smile, Saber began walking away.

"Takagi, Tohno-san, Kohaku-san. Have a good night." he calmly said while he got past the mansion doors.

"Thank you very much, sir!" Kohaku cheerfully replied, with a bow, before closing the mansion doors behind him. Feeling uneasy, Kuro walked to the nearest chair and sat down.

"I just hope he and Kazuki can handle this." he said. Akiha, understanding the detective's concern, walked near to where he was sit, and sat next to him.

"Are you worried about Aokage-kun?" she asked, making him turn to her. He could only nod in confirmation. The heiress held his hand reassuringly.

"I understand." she said "I'm worried, too."

"He's not prepared for this." Kuro murmured "What had happened with Berserker is a good proof of that..."

"What's worse..." the heiress added "He has always fought against his demons, the parts of him that he fears, always trying to make sure that the ones he cares about are not involved, but this time he will be able to do very little to protect them from this, and when even one of his dear ones will be involved in this event, he might very well end up shattered because of it..." Kuro silently nodded, holding her hand.

"Which is why he can't do this on his own." he said. Akiha then held his hand tighter and looked at him reassuringly.

"Aokage-kun isn't involved in this on his own." she said, with a calm smile "He has us, as well as his partner. We're involved in this as much as he is..." While she was speaking these reassuring words, the detective smiled back to her.

"Yes, that's right..." he said. "You've been helping him out for quite some time now, haven't you?" Akiha calmly nodded.

"Ever since his grandfather had passed away." she confirmed, then she held his hand tighter and looked in his eyes with an almost pleading gaze, a slight blush adorning her cheeks.

"This might be selfish of me, but..." she asked "Could you stay here for the night?" Kuro gazed at her lovingly.

"That's something I could never refuse..." he said, before leaning closer and kissing her. The heiress was quick to reciprocate. After some moments of bliss, they separated and looked in each other's eyes.

Meanwhile, Saber was heading to where his Master was, following his Master's trace. It wasn't long before he found Kazuki waiting for him at the door of his house. The gray-haired youth greeted him with a bow.

"Welcome to my house, Saber." he said, with a slight smile, then, he noticed he was wearing a different attire. "Has Tohno-san provided you with casual clothes?".

"Her maid had recommended me this attire during my stay." Saber explained, with a nod.

"Good choice." he commented, then he turned towards the entrance "Please, come on in." The Servant obeyed and followed him as he entered his house. They then went upstairs, in his room.

"Now we need to get some rest." Kazuki said "You stay there, I'll be laying down my second futon." As he opened his closet and took a rolled up futon from it, Saber shook his head.

"You don't need to care this much for me, Kazuki." he objected. "A Servant is no more than a tool for his Master's goals."

"You're no tool, Saber." Kazuki replied. "You're my partner. I don't know how far I would be able to go without you. It's only fair that I care for you in return."

"Kazuki..." Saber breathed out, understanding that his Master would not have taken any further objections. But Kazuki was not saying everything.

" _Besides..._ " he thought " _It may be silly of me, but you remind me of someone I held dear..._ " He unrolled the futon and laid it next to his bed, before taking off his upper clothes and putting them in his drawer.

"Thank you, Kazuki." Saber said as he laid down in the futon. As his Master got in bed as well, he didn't fail to notice his troubled look. "I understand how concerned you must be, but we won't be able to act if we are not ready." His words made the gray-haired youth turn to him.

"Right." he said, slightly eased up. "Good night, Saber." the Servant smiled slightly at his Master's peace.

"Good night, Kazuki." he replied, as both of them slowly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, at the Tohno Mansion, Kuro and Akiha were lying down in her bed, facing each other.

"I'm so happy you came to see me, Kuro..." The heiress whispered with a warm smile, wrapped in the arms of her man.

"It's been a month or so..." he murmured back "And that's already too much for me." The statement made both the lovers giggle. The two then looked in each other's eyes and slowly closed the distance between their faces until their lips met and locked in a passionate kiss. For some time, they indulged in their moment of bliss, holding each other tight, before slowly separating and looking at each other with smiling faces.

"I'll never leave your side. Or Kazuki's" the detective promised, to which the heiress smiled lovingly.

"I know you won't..." she replied, her hand on his cheek "Good night, Kuro..."

"Good night, Akiha." Eventually, they slowly drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, basked in each other's warmth.

 _A man was lying in his futon. A boy, little more than a child, was knelt at his side with countless tears streaming down his face, holding his hand._

 _The man's face turned from the ceiling to the little boy, while he's holding his hand back._

" _Kazuki..." he muttered, looking in the boy's eyes "Please, listen to me..." Hearing those words, the crying boy stood at attention._

" _You're not a monster… I want you to remember that..." he continued, as the boy stood silent. "As long as you have something to protect… You will be reminded even after I'm gone..." At those words, the boy shook his head._

" _How…?" he objected, tears still overflowing from his eyes "How will I be able to go on without your guidance?!" In response, the old man tried his best to smile at him._

" _Don't say that..." he said, gripping the boy's hand "You already have places you love… Things you love… Friends you care for… Don't you?" The boy hesitantly nodded._

" _I tried teaching you… How to use what you have..." he continued. "I wanted to teach you… As much as I could… But you don't need me… To love all those things..."_

" _Grandpa..." the boy uttered, still crying_

" _Love… As long as you have that… You'll know you're not a monster..."his grandfather said. Then, as he slowly closed his eyes, he asked one last thing of him. "Live wisely… Search for your happiness… And no matter what… Protect your humanity… Don't let anyone take it away from you..."_

" _I will, grandpa..." the crying boy said, lowering his head "I promise..."_

 _Then, the old man's hand stood lifeless in the ones of his grandson._

A past memory resurfaced in Kazuki's sleep, in the form of a dream. The memory of a promise etched in his heart, which he had been doing his best to respect...


	17. Struggle

Chapter 17: Struggle

In the Misaki Hospital, a comatose girl was lying in her bed, a machine linked to her checking her vitals. Suddenly, the machine began to beep alarmingly, showing abnormal and life-threatening conditions and catching the attention of all the surgeons close by.

"Bring her in the ER!" the doctors said, hurriedly placing her in a mobile bed. They then hurried to the emergency room with it.

"An operation is needed!" one of the surgeons said as he moved the bed and the girl along with everyone else.

"What's the patient's name?" another surgeon asked. The reply was quick.

"Torikawa Chouko."

...

Meanwhile, in that very same night, a man dressed in dark, his face concealed by a cap and a silken scarf wrapped around his neck, was in front of an old, abandoned building. He fished out his phone and sent a message to a previously called number.

"I'm about to enter the building."

After not long, a reply appeared.

"Very well, Shun. Proceed with your assignment." After reading the message, the man entered the building.

...

Two thugs were standing in a room inside the building, guarding a small briefcase which contained something valuable to them.

"Hey." one of them asked the other "Why are we guarding this, again?"

"Because it will gain us a lot of bucks and rep!" the other thug quickly replied.

"But how can this be important?" he continued to object "Isn't it just a piece of cloth?"

"An ancient and precious piece of cloth!" the other thug explained "Apparently, it used to belong to a kingpin. If we manage to sell this back to him, we'll earn a ton of cash and our rep will skyrocket!"

"So we're trading with a big guy?" the questioning man asked, with fear beginning to be audible in his voice.

"Yes." the other man replied "Why do you ask? Getting scared?"

"You know how this song and dance goes, man!" the thug protested "You fuck with a higher-up, you die!" His companion just shrugged off the statement.

"Nah, it's gonna go just fine!" he replied, then he handed to the scared thug the briefcase. "Gotta go do my business, mind watching this for me?"

"Uhhh… Alright." the thug hesitantly obliged and took the briefcase as his companion headed to the restroom.

"Good thing the toilets still function in this hellhole." he mused as he was walking.

Meanwhile, another thug was guarding the entrance of the compound, armed with a metal bat, standing at attention and closely observing his surroundings. Suddenly, he heard consecutive suspicious noises from outside the entrance and quickly got to the source. The only thing he saw there were a bunch of pebbles which had apparently fallen there from a high point.

Unbeknownst to him, the man with the scarf had climbed right above the entrance and was waiting for him. Shun jumped off behind the thug and snapped his neck before he could realize his doom. After hiding the body, the former policeman entered the building and was easily able to elude the other thugs guarding the place.

As he got closer to the stairs leading to the upper floor, he heard the steps of someone descending them and quickly hid himself. The close by wall and the darkness screened him from the thug's sight. As the thug reached the end of the stairs, the man with the scarf swiftly grabbed him and snapped his neck as well, before heading up the stairs.

The first thing the former policeman saw upon reaching the upper floor was a thug holding a small suitcase. He was distracted, looking at the window close by. Shun slowly approached, without making any noise. When the thug turned and saw the intruder right in front of him, it was too late. The former policeman knocked him out with a well placed chop at his neck, then took the suitcase from him and fished out his phone again.

"I've got it. I'm coming." he quickly typed to the number he had previously contacted. He read no reply, but he didn't need one to know that he needed to head to the Misaki Hospital as fast as possible.

...

In the meantime, the doctors had reached the ER and had quickly laid the patient Chouko Torikawa on the bed. Then, they began the operation which could save her life…

...

Shun was about to leave with the suitcase and its content when a thug entered the room, He had most likely been to the restroom before.

"Hey!" he blurted out, alarmed "Who are you?" Shun quickly understood he had no choice but to fight him. The thug attempted to kick him in the face, but the former policeman dropped the suitcase and quickly avoided the blow. The other man did not give up and tried to punch him multiple times, but his second attempt ended up with Shun grabbing his arm, breaking it and kicking him in the stomach, making him back off.

The thug hissed in pain, holding his wounded arm, before charging at the man with the scarf again. He tried to land a kick, but the former policeman grabbed his leg and hit him on the other one, making him lose his balance and tossing him to the ground. With that, he began walking to the room door, thinking that his opponent was knocked out. However, the thug rose back up and attempted to hit him from behind. Shun was able to notice it and quickly avoided the punch, losing his cap in the process, before hitting the man on the head and knocking him away. However, as the former policeman left the room, the thug silently extended his hand to a transmitter, which had fallen from his pocket during the fight, and spoke.

"An intruder has taken the briefcase… Don't let him escape..." he then slipped in unconsciousness and the transmitter fell from his hand.

As Shun reached the end of the stairs, he heard steps from both the ends of the corridor.

"Stop right there!" one of three thugs running towards him from one end shouted.

"There he is!" one of two thugs from the other end shouted. Shun quickly understood. The thugs were trying to surround him and he needed to get out of there fast. He rushed towards the two thugs and slid under them before getting out of the abandoned compound. He ran as fast as he could, but the thugs were more than able to keep up with him.

…

The doctors had begun the operation on Chouko Torikawa. They were managing scalpels, pincers and other medical instruments in order to search for the cause of her critical state.

…

Shun kept running away from the thugs who were chasing him. However, he soon found himself in front of a metal grid, with the thugs right behind him. He was trapped. With no other choice, the former policeman turned to his chasers, put the small briefcase down on the floor and drew his baton out of his jacket. The thugs glared at him, and he glared back as he prepared to charge. Then, he ran at them, with the baton in his hand, letting out a cry which contained many emotions in it.

Rage, determination, desperation…

He began fighting them with all that he had. Some of them went for his legs, almost making him lose his footing, yet the former policeman avoided the incoming strikes and persevered. He grabbed one of the thugs and snapped his neck, then repelled the assault of another one. A third one made an attempt to strike him, but Shun grabbed the arm holding his metal bat and began striking him relentlessly on the back, breaking his spine. Then, he kneed him in the stomach and struck his head, knocking him down.

He was panting heavily. A thug managed to catch him by surprise, landing a kick on his stomach, and then striking his right arm, and breaking it. Shun hissed in pain as he stepped back, holding his broken arm as the baton fell off his grip. The thugs began slowly closing in.

"That all you've got, shithead?" one of them said. However, Shun was far from finished. He picked up the baton with his left hand and, for good measure, he took his scarf and wrapped it around the arm holding his weapon. His arm was hurting, and tears were pricking his eyes, as the memories of the person who had given him that scarf flooded his mind. As soon as he was finished, the former policeman charged at the thugs without a second thought. He fought them ferociously, however he found himself less adept in using the baton with his left arm. It wasn't long before the three thugs eventually struck him down to the ground. Immediately, they tried to hit him with their bats, but he quickly parried the incoming strikes with his baton.

They kicked him, thinking that he was defenseless, yet their relentless attacks were only fueling his rage. He quickly got back on his feet and swung his baton around, prompting the thugs to step back.

In a second's time, the thugs resumed attacking the panting former policeman.

"Give up already!" one of them shouted as he swung his metal bat, going for the young man's head, but Shun dodged the strike and hit the thug in the stomach, repelling him. However, the other two thugs took the chance to rush at him and struck him at the same time, making him crumble on the ground once more, his broken arm falling on the suitcase and opening it, revealing the precious piece of cloth. He could only pant, as he lied there.

…

The operation on Chouko Torikawa continued on, as the girl's conditions quickly worsened with each passing second. The medics made their best efforts to save her life. In her suffering, the girl's thoughts were focused on the person that was waiting for her, the person she was the happiest with.

" _Onii-chan..._ "

A single tear rolled down her cheek, as she trembled faintly, feeling cold enveloping her, and darkness encroaching around her. She could only struggle against it, for him...

" _Onii-chan..._ "


	18. Loss

Chapter 18: Loss

Shun Akemi was lying on the ground, as the three thugs slowly closed in, glaring at him. Next to him was the precious object he had been fighting to take, a piece of black cloth. He turned his gaze at it, his right hand lying on it.

" _Always the brainiac, eh, Kazuki?_ "

" _Come on, now, Shun..._ "

In those moments, memories of happier days began flashing in his mind, one after another. Memories of all the people that had been by his side, the people whom he had called friends. As the former policeman's palm was laid on the black cloth, one of the thugs took out a kukri knife with which he intended to deliver the coup de grace to the thief who tried stealing their stuff.

"You're finished, shithead. You better say your prayers." he said, menacingly, but his words did not reach Shun, as his mind was filled with blissful past memories, which dimmed out all the rest, including the world around him. His friends, and his love, who had been taken from him.

Then, he remembered the one wish he had, the wish which had guided his life until then, the wish he had shared with his beloved, one night.

" _Shun, do you have a wish?_ " _Akane had asked him, once, as they laid in bed together._

" _A wish?" Shun asked, to which his girlfriend nodded "_ _I've never put too much thought about it..." Akane smiled tenderly._

" _Well, I think now's a good time for coming up with something." she said, putting a hand on his cheek, looking in his eyes._

" _Akane..." he murmured, getting lost in her green eyes. It was then that his most earnest wish surfaced in his mind, and he put it into words._

" _I want us to be happy." he said "Kazuki, Chouko, and the two of us… I would do anything for that wish… For you..." The woman's smile brightened._

 _"I love you, Shun..."_ _she finally said, almost in a whispered, before she closed the distance between their faces, and their lips met, their arms slowly wrapping around each other's bodies._

As his mind was filled with that bright memory, which brought pain when compared to the darkness surrounding him, a single tear rolled down his cheek as he gritted his teeth and held the cloth tightly in his hand. The thug was lunging at him, ready to finish him off with the knife…

But suddenly, a bright red light shone.

When the glint faded, the thugs widened their eyes in utter shock upon seeing a man dressed in a black robe standing in front of the former policeman.

"Who the hell are you?" they asked. Shun was utterly surprised by the sight before him, He then looked at his hand and his surprise doubled once he noticed that a shuriken-shaped sign was visible on his hand.

It didn't take long for him to realize, that he had become something akin to what Hideki Ryoki had been, that he had become a Master.

And that the man in the black garb was none other than his Servant.

"Get the hell out of the way!" one of the thugs shouted as he charged towards the robed figure, landing a punch on his face. However, the mysterious man didn't budge.

"What the?" the crook exclaimed, stupefied by him. It had almost been like hitting a statue. This resilience only angered the thug, who went for another punch "Who do you think you are?!"

This time, however, his punch was grabbed, and he found himself flung around in the air and back against the floor. The other two thugs immediately charged at the man in the black garb, who, however, was quick to push back the assailants with well placed kicks. The criminal who had been flung was able to recover himself, and was about to stand back up and continue the fight.

"Don't." the man ordered, in a monotone voice which left no room for argument, but wasn't enough to faze the thug.

"You don't tell me what to do!" he shouted as he went for another punch, but he was quickly met with a spinning kick. Thinking he had a chance to end the fight there, the thug with the kukri lunged at him and waved his arm against the man's neck, hoping to embed the kukri in his throat…

...But it stopped. No matter how hard he pushed, the crook wasn't able to slit his throat. The man in the black garb took glared at the knife's holder as he took the blade in his fingers and pushed away. The thug's arm, holding the kukri, trembled visibly.

"Wha… What the hell are you?" he couldn't help but ask.

"...Just an Assassin." the man replied, in his monotone, stony voice, before swiftly grabbing the crook's wrist and throwing him aside, as the second thug came at him with a flying kick, which he was quick to dodge. The crook tried a couple punches, but Assassin swiftly parried them and, as the last one failed, he grabbed his opponent's arm and broke it effortlessly with a chop in the middle, before kicking him away. However, the crook with the kukri saw another opportunity, as the garbed man's back was facing him, and took it, lunging at him in an attempt to stab him in the back..

...But he failed, as the blade stopped on the garb, almost as if it was an armor. Astonished at this, the crook could only step back in fear, as Assassin slowly turned to him, glaring at him.

"You fight to kill..." he said, as a katana immediately materialized itself from shadow in his hand "…And so do I." Before he was able to react, the man was already behind the thug, his blade stained with blood. The petty criminal could only look down at the grievous wound that was left on his stomach, before falling down to the ground, lifeless.

The other two thugs were still trying to get back on their feet, when Assassin lunged at them and slashed them fatally, in the blink of an eye, before both could register what was happening around them. In such a short instant, their life was cut short. Their killer waved his blade, the swipe clearing it from the blood that stained it, as Shun could only watch, in utter shock. The katana disappeared from Assassin's hand, as he began stepping towards the former policeman, stopping right in front of him.

"Assassin..." Shun could only utter, as he looked up at the Servant that had just saved his life. The black garbed man simply nodded as he held out his hand for his Master to take. As soon as Shun held it back, a strange energy flowed through him, partially healing his wounds, just enough to allow him to stand back up on his feet.

"Go." Assassin then told his Master, with his monotone voice. Shun nodded, understanding what he had to do.

"Thank you." he said, before grabbing the small suitcase in which the cloth was stored and immediately running off in the direction of Misaki Hospital, where the one he had been fighting for was waiting. The Servant watched the former policeman as he hasted himself, before vanishing in the darkness, ready to appear whenever it was needed, for the sake of his Master.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Shun did not bother to look around for Goro Ryoki, whom he was supposed to meet with, and ran up the stairs, in direction of the corridor separating Chouko Torikawa from the Emergency Room. However, he failed to notice that the one who had submitted the job for him had been waiting for him, hidden behind a pillar, and had been watching as he ran to the one he wished to protect.

Little did Shun Akemi know, that only a grim surprise was waiting for him, and that what he had been fighting for was already lost.

As he entered the corridor, he was greeted by the sight of four surgeons carrying a body in a hospital bed. The body was covered by a shroud, and there was no doubt that it was a deceased patient. At that sight, the small suitcase fell from the former policeman's grip, as he hesitantly got closer at the body, with only one hope in his heart.

"Please let it not be her..."

That hope's light dimmed more and more with each passing second, as the unbearable silence of the surgeons surrounded him and the echo of his scared steps were the only thing to be heard. He put a hand on the shroud covering the body, in order to ascertain its identity…

..And what he saw beneath the shroud was the lifeless face of Chouko Torikawa.

At that sight, every word died in his throat. He just stared at the girl he had just lost, with forlorn and despairing eyes, for seconds that passed slowly, almost as if time had stopped in sorrow. This frozen eternity was further underlined by the mournful silence of the surgeons…

Until one of them broke the silence.

"We're sorry for your loss, Akemi-san..."

That phrase only prompted him to turn and rush out of the hospital in disbelief, refusal, and despair. Only one thought was in his mind.

" _No..._ "

His nightmare had come true. His steps led him to the entrance of the hospital. He sat on one of the steps which led to it, his gaze forlornly lowered, as all of the memories he had with Chouko Torikawa inevitably flooded in his mind.

Blissful memories, precious memories, of days that could never return. A sorrowful train of thought that was to be interrupted by the sound of Goro Ryoki's voice as he stepped towards the devastated former policeman.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Shun..."

Behind the words of the CEO seemed to lie true, genuine concern and intent to share his pain. Shun remained silent, and did not raise his face and eyes to the old man, not even as he continued speaking.

"Each person in this world has his own fate. That includes that little girl, of course..." he said, thoughtfully raising his gaze at the night sky. "One may think of fate as a game. In life, you're dealt with a set of cards and, in order to win, the only way is to be a good player. Stick to the hand you're dealt and use it at its best." The former policeman hardly listened to his words, since his mind was already overwhelmed by his grief over the loss of Chouko. After speaking, Goro let out a sigh and took his glasses off of his face.

"And this game is not over yet." he said "I will stop at nothing to claim what is mine, and I'll play my cards." He then turned to the despairing young man "The question is, what will you do now, Shun? You still have a good hand." As those words reached his ears, Shun's fists clenched in anger and sadness.

" _A good hand, you say?_ " he thought " _And for what, now? I couldn't use it to protect her…_ " He felt like he had failed as a human being, since what he had loved and attempted to protect was gone.

"If you have nothing to play for..." Goro made a suggestion "You can always come with me. I could use a man with your ability..." Shun Akemi slowly rose from the steps leading to the entrance door of Misaki Hospital, but his fists were still clenched and his head was hung low. Finally, he replied, almost tiredly…

"...Fine. Have it your way."

He saw nothing else to play his cards for. Slowly, a smirk made its way on the face of the CEO of Ryoki Corporation.

"Smart choice." he said "I'll be waiting for you in my office tomorrow morning." He then turned his back on him and began moving his steps in the direction of home, opening his umbrella as it was beginning to rain. Shun, however, simply stood there, his back turned to the entrance of the hospital in which Chouko Torikawa had died, never raising his head.

And then, after a minute, he began walking away from the building. Broken, no more than a shell of who he was once. His steps led him along the length of the closest street, as relentless raindrops crashed down on him. Weightless, yet heavy, upon touching a soul of a grieving man. There was only one figure who silently followed him, like a shadow. A black-garbed man, who almost looked like one.

Eventually, his steps came to a halt, his legs gave out and he fell on his knees, as the rain got more intense. Unseen tears began trailing down his cheeks, like a bitter waterfall.

And then, he finally rose his head to the heavens, and began crying out in pain, letting out all of his grief, all of his despair at his failure towards his friends, and towards himself.

As he cried out, Assassin was the only silent witness to the abyss that his Master had fell into. There was no need for words. He would have walked in that abyss alongside him, as his Servant.


End file.
